Petitioners were former patients who received obstetrical care at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), a public hospital in the city of Charleston, and who were arrested after testing positive for cocaine. In 1988, concerns arose among MUSC staff about an apparent increase in the use of cocaine by patients who were receiving prenatal …Read more

The Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) brought charges to determine whether a practitioner is guilty of punishable “infamous conduct” when in deference to a patient’s religious views which he failed to provide live-saving blood transfusions, refer the patient to another practitioner, or terminate his medical contract. The patient, Martha Okorie, and her …Read more

Two medical practitioners came to an agreement where the first practitioner would give the second practitioner half of his patients in return for payment of money and provision of equipment. One doctor defaulted under this agreement and sought to enforce it in the court. The Court of Appeals had held that the agreement was void.

Jodie and Mary were conjoined twins connected at the lower abdomen. Each had their own vital organs, but one of Jodie’s arteries supplied oxygenated blood to Mary. The twins were surgically capable of being separated, but doing so would leave Mary’s deficient heart and lungs without support and lead to her death. However, if the …Read more

Terrance Parker suffered from severe epilepsy since he was a young child. He could substantially reduce the incidence of seizures by smoking marihuana, but he had no legal source of marihuana. Parker was charged with cultivating marihuana under the Narcotic Control Act and with possession of marihuana under the new Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. …Read more

Mr. L was a mentally retarded person who was incapable of consenting to medical treatment. From the age of 13, he had been a resident at the Bournewood Hospital which was governed by the appellant, NHS Trust. Mr. L was discharged from the hospital on a trial basis into the community with paid carers, though …Read more

A 36 weeks-pregnant woman, referred to as “MS”, sought care as a new patient at a local National Health Service (NHS) practice on 25th April 1996. She previously had not sought any ante-natal care. She was quickly diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, a condition threatening the life and health of both her and her baby. She rejected …Read more

L, who was profoundly mentally retarded and incapable of consenting to medical treatment, was admitted informally for in-patient treatment by an National Health Service Trust as he appeared fully compliant and did not resist admission. As a consequence the Trust avoided invoking the Mental Health Act regime. L applied, by his next friend, for judicial …Read more

S, who was 36 weeks pregnant, was diagnosed with severe pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening condition of pregnancy characterized by high blood pressure, and with moderate depression. She was advised that her health and her life, and that of her baby, were in real danger and that she needed to be admitted immediately to hospital for an induced …Read more

The case combined six writs of tutela that were filed against the Institute of Social Security (ISS) into one record. The Plaintiffs were persons living with HIV who had not been able to obtain protease inhibitors to treat their HIV. The protease inhibitors sought by the Plaintiffs were antiretrovirals used in the treatment of HIV …Read more