A doctor’s duty of disclosure: UKSC sets new paradigm in Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board

• Main Author: LOW, Kee Yang
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2015
• Subjects: Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility; Legal Profession
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/2602; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/4560/viewcontent/doctor.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board (“Montgomery”)1 is about a baby being born with severe disabilities. Expectant mothers of small build and suffering from diabetes,2 such as the plaintiff, run the risk of shoulder dystocia, that is – the situation of the baby’s shoulders being unable to pass through the pelvis in a normal delivery.3 In this case, the patient was not told of the risk of shoulder dystocia as, in the doctor’s opinion, the possibility was very small. The doctor was not inclined to warn as most mothers, if told would opt for a ceasarean section and that would deprive them of the (desirable) opportunity of a natural delivery.