ADDENDA


From the archives: A man of ordinary skill


GALLOWGATE in Glasgow was the unlikely site of a medico-legal milestone in 1951.


A patient named Jemima Hunter had been under treatment for chronic pulmonary symptoms by a Glasgow GP – Dr John Hanley. The GP had administered a course of penicillin injections and on the final injection the needle broke and became lodged in the patient’s right hip. Dr Hanley immediately informed the patient of the mishap and sent her off to the A&E Department at Glasgow Royal Infirmary with a letter of explanation. The doctor on duty at the hospital – presumably to ensure compliance with his treatment advice – implied to Mrs Hunter that the broken needle could meander through her body and eventually reach her heart where it would prove fatal. Mrs Hunter


Crossword


rushed back to Dr Hanley in distress. He tried to reassure her but without success. Mrs Hunter obtained legal aid to pursue a


claim of damages of £2,500. Dr Hanley was an MDDUS member and the Union provided legal support and representation in the subsequent trial by jury. It was alleged that the needle used for the injection was unsuitable. In July 1954 a unanimous verdict was returned in favour of Dr Hanley but this


was followed by an immediate motion for a new trial on the basis that the jury had been misdirected. Seven months later Lord President Clyde considered the motion and delivered his now famous judgment on determining liability in negligence cases. His ruling stated: “To establish liability by a doctor where deviation from normal practice is alleged, three facts require to be established. First of all it must be proved that there is a usual and normal practice; secondly it must be proved that the defender has not adopted that practice; and thirdly (and this is of crucial importance) it must be established that the course the doctor adopted is one which no professional man of ordinary skill would have taken if he had been acting with ordinary care.” In the end Lord Clyde did order a new trial at which Dr Hanley


was again found not liable by the jury to pay Mrs Hunter damages. The case – Hunter v Hanley– is still cited in Scottish case law today. No mention is made of what happened to the offending needle but it was still embedded in Mrs Hunter’s hip at the trial four years later.


Source: A Century of Care, published by MDDUS


ACROSS


1. Induce vomiting (7) 5. Laurie’s fictional doctor (5) 7. Spherical bacteria (5) 8. Total decrease in oxygen (6) 10. Windpipe (7) 11. Moon of Saturn (4) 12. _____ v Hanley, landmark negligence case (6)


14. Inflammatory disease of the airways (6)


17. Female reproductive cell (4) 19. Hypersensitivity disorder (7) 22. Tendon deserts kneecap to make Spanish dish (6)


23. Childhood respiratory condition (5)


24. Closed sacs of air or fluid (5) 25. Poisonous element. As (7)


See answers online at www.mddus.com. Go to the Notice Board page under News and Events.


22


DOWN


1. Shield (10) 2. Fetter (7) 3. Like Bono or Terry Wogan? (5) 4. Beetle (6) 5. Defence Secretary 1999-2005 (4)


6. - Heep, Dickens character (5) 9. Movement started by Ludwig Guttmann (10)


11. Rodent (3) 13. Scottish men’s bonnet (3) 15. Whaling weapon (7) 16. Tropical fruit (6) 18. European mountains (5) 20. Guitar riffs (5) 21. “… poor Yorick” (4)


Object obscura: Waterloo teeth


PHOTOGRAPH: BRITISH DENTAL ASSOCIATION MUSEUM


IN the 19th century replacement teeth were traditionally made from ivory but these did not always look natural and deteriorated more quickly than real teeth. More robust and natural were dentures made with an ivory base and then set with real human teeth. Such dentures have subsequently become known as Waterloo teeth as some were scavenged from dead soldiers on battlefields. Others were taken by resurrectionists who dug up corpses. Contamination was an issue with the only method of sterilising being boiling water. The practice was more common in the early part of the nineteenth century but Waterloo teeth were still appearing in dental supply catalogues of the 1860s, shipped across in barrels from the American Civil War.


SUMMONS


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