‘A man who knocked a pedestrian unconscious with an electric motorbike and fled the scene has received a 12-month suspended sentence.’
BBC News, 2nd July 2026
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘It has been a decade since the decision in Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015] UKSC 11 was delivered, which definitively established a patient-focused test for deciding whether a healthcare professional (HCP) is under a duty to warn their patient of inherent risks. Given the significant cadre of cases since, it is an appropriate juncture to assess Montgomery’s implications for HCPs and for their advisers in two important respects, so as to develop a ‘Montgomery map’ or guide. First, in the ‘consultation phase’ between diagnosis and treatment—and in which the duty to warn is nestled—the Bolam test (as modified by the Bolitho ‘gloss’) remains the governing test of breach to a much greater extent than may have been anticipated when Montgomery’s patient-centric approach was affirmed, courtesy of McCulloch v Forth Valley Health Board [2023] UKSC 26. It is argued that Montgomery and McCulloch are entirely reconcilable within the nuanced landscape that the ‘consultation phase’ entails. Secondly, after a decade’s worth of case law, it is now possible to provide a detailed multi-factorial framework as to what, really, renders a risk so ‘material’ that it ought to be disclosed in order to comply with the Montgomery duty.’
Medical Law Review, 11th June 2026
Source: doi.org
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