Durham Law School, Palatine Centre, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK.
School of Law, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Med Law Rev. 2020 May 1;28(2):270-292. doi: 10.1093/medlaw/fwz023.
In 2015, the Supreme Court in Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board handed down a landmark decision on informed consent to medical treatment, heralding a legal shift to a more patient-centred approach. Montgomery, and the extensive commentary that has followed, focuses on 'adult persons of sound mind'. Cave and Purshouse consider the potential claims that may flow from a failure to adequately inform children. They argue that the relevance of the best interests test blurs the boundaries between negligence and battery. Limitations on children's rights to make treatment decisions for themselves impact on their potential to claim in negligence for non-disclosure and, conversely, enhance the potential relevance of the tort of battery. In paediatric cases, Montgomery raises expectations that the law is currently ill-equipped to satisfy. Tort law provides a legal incentive to disclose relevant information to children but limits the availability of a remedy.
2015 年,最高法院在 Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board 一案中就医疗治疗的知情同意做出了具有里程碑意义的裁决,标志着法律朝着更加以患者为中心的方法转变。蒙哥马利案以及随后的大量评论都集中在“理智健全的成年人”身上。Cave 和 Purshouse 考虑了可能因未能充分告知儿童而引发的潜在诉求。他们认为,最佳利益测试的相关性模糊了疏忽和殴打之间的界限。对儿童自行做出治疗决定的权利的限制,影响了他们在疏忽方面因未披露而提出索赔的可能性,反之,增强了殴打侵权行为的相关性。在儿科案例中,蒙哥马利案提出了法律目前难以满足的期望。侵权法为向儿童披露相关信息提供了法律激励,但限制了补救措施的可获得性。