Esegbona v King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2019] EWHC 77 (QB)
Aggravated damages following MCA breaches "The claimant, Dr Gloria Esegbona, brings this claim as administrator of the estate of the deceased, her mother, Christiana Esegbona. The action is brought in negligence and false imprisonment. The amended claim form states that the claimant's claim is a claim in clinical negligence and/or pursuant to the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 and/or the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934. The claimant claims damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity as well as damages, including aggravated damages, for false imprisonment. It is the claimant's case not only that the medical, nursing and other staff at the defendant’s hospital owed her mother a duty to treat her with reasonable care and skill but also that the defendant had duties under the Mental Capacity Act 2005: to take reasonable steps to establish whether Mrs Esegbona lacked capacity before doing any act in connection with her care or treatment; and further that if the defendant reasonably believed that Mrs Esegbona lacked capacity whether it would be in her best interests for any act in connection with her care or treatment to be done; and to take steps to obtain a court order or the relevant authorisation under schedule A1 to the Act before depriving Mrs Esegbona of her liberty. The claimant says the defendant acted in breach of these duties."
See also
- MCA-related damages. 1 Crown Office Row, 'Alasdair Henderson secures award of damages for false imprisonment in a hospital setting' (30/1/19) — This web page reports on a claim against Kings College Hospital in which the High Court held that there had been a failure to follow the DOLS requirements to undertake a full capacity assessment and, if appropriate, a best interests assessment, and that the hospital had intentionally kept the family in the dark about Christiana Esegbona's discharge to a nursing home until the last minute in order to prevent objection. The claim for false imprisonment and for negligent failures to provide adequate information to the nursing home (at which the patient died after pulling out her tracheostomy tube) was successful, and the court awarded aggravated damages because of the deliberate exclusion of the family from the discharge planning process.
Essex
This case has been summarised on page 4 of 39 Essex Chambers, 'Mental Capacity Report' (issue 91, February 2019).
External links
- Transcript on Serjeants' Inn website (transcript was added to Bailii on 25/11/19)
Full judgment: BAILII
Download here
Subject(s):
- Unlawful detention cases🔍
Date: 22/1/19🔍
Court: High Court (Queen's Bench Division)🔍
Judge(s):
- Coe🔍
Parties:
Citation number(s):
What links here:- 1 Crown Office Row, 'Alasdair Henderson secures award of damages for false imprisonment in a hospital setting' (30/1/19)
- 39 Essex Chambers, 'Mental Capacity Report' (issue 91, February 2019)
Published: 4/2/19 23:30
Cached: 2024-11-21 16:11:42
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