§ PUBLISHED JUDGMENT · 2023

Canavan v Gaynor

[2023] EWHC 1911 (KB)·High Court (King's Bench Division), Liverpool District Registry·20 April 2023

A woman attended a GP drop-in clinic with groin pain after an injection had missed the vein; the GP diagnosed a haematoma and sent her away with painkillers, and days later she was admitted with necrotising fasciitis and her right leg was amputated at the hip. The judge found the GP's examination and diagnosis were ones a reasonable body of GPs would support, so the claim failed despite the defendant accepting that referral would have saved her leg.

Outcome

Claim failed

Sum stated in judgment

Not stated

Claim type

GP Negligence

Decided

Liability decided at trial

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§ WHAT HAPPENED

The facts, in brief.

Defendant: Dr Edward Gaynor

Injury: Necrotising fasciitis of the right leg; right leg amputated at the hip

Specialty: General practice · England

§ WHAT THE COURT SAID

In the judgment’s own words.

“He was not negligent. As such, the claimant's case fails.”

The money

Claim dismissed on breach of duty; no damages assessed. The defendant had conceded that hospital admission at the consultation would have avoided the amputation.

§ WHY IT MATTERS

What this case shows.

Even where a devastating outcome and causation are accepted, a claim fails unless the clinician's decision fell outside what a responsible body of practitioners would have done. A properly documented history and examination that reasonably excluded infection was a complete defence.

About gp negligence claims →

§ MORE GP NEGLIGENCE JUDGMENTS

Claimant succeeded

Shaheen & Anor v Dr Joanna Daish

[2025] EWHC 3056 (KB)·2025·Liability decided at trial

A 49-year-old man saw his GP with breathlessness and a persistent cough; the GP ordered a chest X-ray on the computer system but the judge found she never told him to go to the walk-in radiology department. The court held he would have attended if told and was not himself at fault.

Ordering a test is not enough; the patient must be told clearly what to do. Courts are slow to blame patients for not chasing a test they did not know had been requested.

Claimant succeeded

Philipa Hodgson v Dr Daniel Hammond & Anor

[2025] EWHC 1261 (KB)·2025·Liability decided at trial

Ms Hodgson saw a locum GP who suspected pelvic inflammatory disease but did not examine her or arrange urgent follow-up, and a second GP reviewing her blood results by telephone did not refer her for examination. The delay in treatment led to an abscess, removal of a fallopian tube and chronic pelvic pain.

When a GP suspects a serious infection, the court expects an examination or urgent referral to rule it out, and a telephone review of test results does not replace that. Both GPs were held liable, with damages to be decided separately.

Claimant succeeded

Gurmukh Gahir v Dr Ayodele Olusgun Ola

[2024] EWHC 390 (KB)·2024·Liability decided at trial

Mr Gahir went to his GP with fever, severe headache, nausea and confusion; the GP diagnosed migraine, and he was not admitted to hospital until 55 hours later, when herpes simplex encephalitis was treated with acyclovir. The judge found the combination of fever, headache and confusion required urgent hospital referral and that earlier treatment would have left him far less disabled.

Fever, headache and confusion together are a recognised red flag for brain infection, and a GP who attributes them to migraine without arranging urgent admission may be found negligent. The judge accepted the family's account of the patient's confusion during the consultation.

All gp negligence judgments →

Contains information licensed under the Open Justice - Licence v2.0. Judgments from Find Case Law, The National Archives. Summaries are ours; amounts only where printed in the judgment.

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