Gregg v Scott [2005] UKHL 2, [2005] 2 AC 176 (HL)

Feb 27

1 min read

Facts

The claimant attended his GP with a lump under his arm. The GP negligently misdiagnosed it as a benign condition and failed to refer him for urgent investigation. Approximately nine months later, he was correctly diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

At the time of the negligent misdiagnosis, the claimant’s chance of surviving for ten years was assessed at approximately 42%. By the time of the correct diagnosis, this had fallen to around 25%. The claimant argued that the delay had reduced his chance of long-term survival by about 17%, and he sought damages for the loss of that chance.

Issue

Can a claimant recover damages for a reduction in a less-than-50% chance of survival caused by medical negligence?

Decision

By a majority, the House of Lords dismissed the claim. The claimant’s original chance of survival was already below 50%, meaning he could not prove on the balance of probabilities that the negligence caused his injury (death or reduced life expectancy). The reduction in survival prospects was not actionable damage under existing principles.

Legal Principle

English law does not generally recognise recovery for loss of a chance in medical negligence cases where the claimant’s original prospects were below 50%. Causation must still be proved on the balance of probabilities. A statistical reduction in survival prospects is not sufficient unless it crosses the 50% threshold.