The courts have considered what a responsible and logical body of doctors would have done in similar circumstances, as Dr Jock Mackenzie explains
In April 2020, Lady Hale gave the unanimous Supreme Court judgment in Barclays Bank plc v Various Claimants [2020] UKSC 13.
The issue was whether Barclays bank was vicariously liable for sexual assaults by the late Dr Gordon Bates, a GP with a ‘portfolio practice’ which included medical assessments and examinations of employees/prospective employees for Barclays.
The case concerned the first step of vicarious liability: whether there was a sufficient relationship between the defendant and tortfeasor.
Lady Hale concluded the law remained that the ‘employer’ of an independent contractor was generally not liable for negligence committed by that contractor in the course of the execution of t...
