Jacqueline Beatty v Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust
[2023] EWHC 3163 (KB)·2023·Liability decided at trial
Ms Beatty, in hospital with severe cellulitis, developed ischaemic toes; a vascular surgeon diagnosed vasculitis rather than an embolism and did not order a CT angiogram, and she later needed a below-knee amputation. The judge found the surgeon's diagnosis was supported by a responsible body of medical opinion and dismissed the claim.
A diagnosis that turns out to be wrong is not automatically negligent; if a responsible body of specialists would have reached the same view on the information available, the claim fails under the Bolam test.