Reforms provide safeguards for health professionals

6/4/04
New legal safeguards introduced in State Parliament will give Western Australian health professionals greater protection from unreasonable litigation claims.
Amendments to the Civil Liability Act 2002 provide a new test for medical negligence, similar to that now operating in most States.
Attorney General Jim McGinty said the test would preclude a finding of negligence against a health professional if their conduct was found to be compatible with the views of a responsible body of their peers.
The new test is known in legal circles as the Bolam principle and will be extended to all health practitioners statutorily requiring registration.
"Under this principle, a finding of negligent treatment would not be made against a health practitioner if the practitioner's conduct would be widely accepted in Australia by professional opinion of their peers as competent professional practice," Mr McGinty said.
"The majority of States and Territories have or are adopting similar approaches."
The changes were aimed at discouraging frivolous negligence claims and preventing inappropriate expert 'shopping'.
However, there would be several safeguards for patients. A court would not be bound by the views of the practitioner's professional peers if it formed the opinion that the conduct was so unreasonable that no reasonable practitioner could have acted in such a way.
And the new test would not apply if the conduct related to informing patients of the medical risks associated with the proposed treatment or procedure.
Attorney General's office: 9220 5000