Claim by family of a man who died in hospital after being admitted to the accident and emergency department. Ruled that notwithstanding the fact that hospital staff failed to provide the appropriate treatment to the patient, their negligence did not cause the death and that even if they had acted earlier it would have made “no difference” to the “tragic outcome”. Decision here.
In many personal injury and clinical negligence cases expert reports refer to medical literature. From time to time solicitors and counsel may need to undertake their own researches in this area. In this seminar Mr Paterson will examine how to search the medical literature. His talk will cover:
Mr Brodie Charles Paterson is an Emergency Medicine Consultant (A&E) working full-time within Scotland and also flies as a flight physician with East Anglian Air Ambulance.
Mr Paterson, via his company Emergency Medicine Experts Ltd, provides personal injury reports from clinics in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen and Dundee. Mr Paterson also provides clinical negligence reports to the CLO and Scottish solicitors on an approximately 50:50 basis.
Registration and refreshment from 4pm to 4.15pm with the event set to start at 4.15pm sharp.
To register, please visit the Ampersand events site here.
Appeal in Clinical Liability claim based on the alleged negligence of midwifery staff resulting in cerebral palsy of child. Decision here.
The prospect of appearing as a witness in court has become less daunting for a group of paediatricians after they received some expert tuition from members of Faculty.
Earlier this year, counsel presented a “mock trial” at a course run by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in Edinburgh, where delegates were cross-examined by advocates on professional witness reports which they had prepared from fictitious case studies.
“Some of the doctors expressed interest in learning more about the Scottish legal system, and in seeing a real court ‘in action’, as it were,” said Geoffrey Mitchell, QC of Ampersand.
Arrangements were made for a visit to the Faculty, and six doctors were shown around Parliament House and the Advocates Library, and they also saw proceedings in the Court of Session and the High Court.
“I was delighted to be able to extend this invitation on behalf of the Faculty and I think they enjoyed the day,” added Mr Mitchell.
“Clearly, it is important that we maintain links with other professional bodies. It was also a privilege to be able to help them get to grips with the Scottish legal structure, and the task of giving evidence in court.”
Marnie Greenrod, head of RCPCH Child Protection Education, said: “After a successful series of courses in London around report writing and preparing for court appearances, there was a recognised need to tailor these courses for a Scottish audience. We are greatly indebted to the advocates who so generously offered their time and expertise in better preparing our paediatricians for appearances in court.”
Una Doherty KC has been ranked in the 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025 editions of the Legal 500 UK Bar Directory for Personal Injury and Medical Negligence.
She has also been ranked for clinical negligence in the 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 editions of Chambers UK Bar Guide.
Una has also been ranked as a Leading Silk in Crime and Regulatory in the 2025 edition of the Legal 500 UK Bar Directory.
She has been ranked as a Leading Silk in Administrative and Public Law in the 2024 edition of the Legal 500 UK Bar Directory.
Una has a varied civil practice which covers a range of reparation disputes, although her main areas of practice are in personal injury and clinical negligence claims. She is instructed both for pursuers and for defenders and acts for clients ranging from individual litigants to insurers and public bodies. She is regularly instructed by the NHS Central Legal Office. She has extensive experience of high value personal injury claims including those involving catastrophic brain injuries. In the area of clinical negligence, she regularly acts in multi-million pound claims, including cerebral palsy cases. She is currently instructed in the UK and Scottish Covid-19 Inquiries, and the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, representing NHS National Services Scotland. In 2023, Una was leading counsel for the respondent, and presented the oral submissions in the Supreme Court, in McCulloch and others (Appellants) v Forth Valley Health Board (Respondent) [2023] UKSC 26. During the hearing, the Court described this as the most important clinical negligence appeal in years. The Court refused the appeal.
She has been an Ad Hoc Advocate Depute since 2013, and in that role prosecutes criminal cases in the High Court.
She was a Legal Assessor to the General Teaching Council of Scotland from 2017 to 2021, advising panels on questions of law and procedure in Fitness to Teach proceedings.
In 2017, she completed an International Arbitration Law course at the University of Aberdeen, and was a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators from 2017 to 2021.
Una took silk in 2018.
In 2020, Una qualified as a mediator.
In 2021, Una was appointed as a Legally Qualified Chair by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). In that role Una chairs panels with social service and lay members to decide whether workers’ fitness to practise is impaired.
Confidentiality prohibits the details of the numerous claims which have settled without recourse to the courts or in the course of proof.
Stephen Bell called in 1996 after 13 years in practice as a solicitor during which he was a litigation partner in firms in Edinburgh and Aberdeen. He has a wide ranging civil practice, including family law (both financial provision and child law), commercial law and reparation. He is regularly instructed in professional negligence cases, including medical negligence. He acts for and against private individuals and corporations. He also has experience of acting for and against local authorities, particularly in adoption applications. He provides written advice on a wide variety of matters.
