Can ‘Accidents’ Happen In Hospital? Exploring Secondary Victim Claims forPsychiatric Harm

Speaker: Michael Rivelin
Barrister – St John’s Chambers
18:00 – 19:00hrs
Will include questions and opportunity for discussion.
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SYMLS are pleased to welcome Michael Rivelin, who is a Doctor turned Barrister, now a
member of St John’s Chambers. Michael’s background in medicine offers a unique perspective
on medico-legal issues. Michael is also a former President of the South Yorkshire MedicoLegal Society
Nervous shock claims by individuals who have suffered psychiatric harm as a result of
witnessing traumatic accidents have always been subject to strict, and perhaps considered by
some to be arbitrary, limits. Those limits were effectively codified in these claims following the
Hillsborough disaster. Now, the Supreme Court has all but prevented such claims arising from
medical negligence through its definition of “accident”. This talk will explore the origins of
these claims, how their limits are justified, and how they apply in medical negligence.