Stephen Warne on professional negligence, regulation and discipline around the world

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Entries Tagged as 'doctors'

Can’t keep up

August 7th, 2010 · No Comments

Many new decisions of interest are coming out and I will not have time to blog them any time soon as I have to go to University and concentrate on my latest and hopefully last field of study, Shareholders Rights and Remedies.  Here are some pointers in case you want to read this slew of [...]

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Tags: Criminal liability · Discipline · Negligence · Out of court settlements · autrefois acquit · doctors · procedure · prosecutorial failures

Prosecutors’ duties in professional discipline cases

July 20th, 2010 · No Comments

There is an interesting article by Ian Wheatley at (2008) 16 Journal of Law and Medicine 193.  Titled ‘The Criminalisation of Professional Misconduct Under the Health Professions Registration Act 2005 (Vic): How is a Fine of $50,000 Not Punitive?’. It compares the rights of alleged criminals and the maximum sentences in criminal law, with the [...]

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Tags: Discipline · Ethics · Evidence · Professional regulation · doctors · duties regarding witnesses · duty to court · litigation ethics · procedure · prosecutors' duties

Shrink chucks a Hercules re fellow shrink’s Medical Board complaint

June 25th, 2010 · No Comments

Readers, to ‘chuck a Hercules’ is to follow in the footsteps of Keith Hercules, solicitor, of Melbourne whose suit for defamation against the complainant in respect of the complainant’s publication of a disciplinary complaint to the Law Institute is the subject of Hercules v Phease [1994] 2 VR 411, which I noted here.  (Compare Lincoln [...]

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Tags: Discipline · Professional regulation · doctors

Poorer students more likely to end up committing professional misconduct

May 19th, 2010 · 3 Comments

A study in the British Medical Journal has suggested that students from poorer families and students with poor marks are more likely to engage in serious professional misconduct than other students.  It should really suggest that such students are more likely to get caught engaging in serious professional misconduct, but it’s interesting nevertheless.  The sample [...]

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Tags: Discipline · Misconduct · doctors

Whether Briginshaw applies depends on the nature of the allegations, not the nature of the proceedings

February 11th, 2010 · No Comments

In Polglaze v The Veterinary Practitioners Board of NSW [2010] NSWCA 4, the NSW Court of Appeal did not seem to be impressed about an appeal reaching them in relation to a finding of unsatisfactory professional  conduct in failing to warn the owner of a dog-patient that a second sedating injection was going to cost [...]

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Tags: Discipline · Unsatisfactory conduct · doctors

Doctors, psychologists, sex and former patients

September 7th, 2009 · No Comments

In Re a Psychologist [2009] TASSC 70, the Supreme Court of Tasmania quashed a decision of the Psychologists Registration Board of Tasmania to suspend a psychologist for 6 months for entering into a sexual relationship with a former patient fewer than 2 years after the end of the therapeutic relationship.  In fact he married her. [...]

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Tags: "disgraceful and dishonourable" · Discipline · Misconduct · amendment · doctors · natural justice · procedure · prosecutorial failures · prosecutors' duties

Sex offence doctor’s VCAT success stayed pending appeal

August 4th, 2009 · No Comments

The Herald Sun has been active recently with front page excoriation of VCAT’s professional regulatory review jurisdiction for letting loose on the public again those they have described in unusually large letters as ‘sex fiends’ and ‘insane killers‘.  The two decisions are SL v Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria [2008] VCAT 2077, a decision of [...]

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Tags: Admission · Criminal liability · Professional regulation · VCAT · doctors

A new text on professional discipline

April 29th, 2009 · No Comments

Lovegrove & Lord‘s Kim Lovegrove and barrister Sav Korica have just published a little book called Disciplinary Hearings and Advocacy (Hybrid, 2009). It sells for $39.95. Lovegrove is the Chairman of the Building Practitioners Board, and presides over disciplinary hearings. I suspect that frustration with other decision makers’ decision making (‘there may exist some, particularly [...]

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Tags: Discipline · Professional regulation · doctors · procedure · prosecutors' duties

Negligence claim against solicitor is a relevant factor in a limitation period extension application, part II

April 23rd, 2009 · No Comments

I posted about this issue, as it arose in a 2007 decision of Justice Forrest, here. Since May 2003, certain Victorian actions for personal injury must be brought within 3 years after the injury was discovered to be attributable to the defendant’s negligence, or 12 years after the allegedly negligence conduct, whichever comes first.  Previously [...]

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Tags: Limitations of actions · Negligence · defences · doctors

Doctors behaving badly

April 5th, 2009 · No Comments

When I found the Royal Australian Society of Professional Discipline (which will have a nice little commission going to whichever dominatrix is willing to pay the most for referrals of callers with the wrong idea), I will open it in the hinterland of the Gold Coast.  That’s a nicer place to be than the Coast [...]

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Tags: doctors