AN ACT OF THRID PARTY: MEDICAL TREATMENT

• Medical treatment is unlikely to break the chain of causation unless it is so independent of the defendant's acts and 'in itself so potent in causing death' that the defendant's acts are insignificant.
• R v SMITH (1959) - Two soldiers had a fight and one was stabbed in the lung by the other. While the soldier was being carried away he was dropped. At the medical centre the staff gave him artificial respiration by pressing on his chest. This made the injury worse and he died. He may have had a 75% of survival. The original attacker was still guilty because the stab wound was the overwhelming cause of the death, it was the significant and operative cause and not de minimis
• R v CHESHIRE (1991) - D shot the V in the thigh and stomach and the victim had problems breathing so was given a tracheotomy. The V died from rare complications of the tracheotomy. By the time he died, the original wounds weren't life-threatening. The D was still held liable for his death
• R v JORDAN (1956) - The V was stabbed in the stomach and when treated the wounds were healing well. One doctor stopped the use of the antibiotic but the next day another doctor gave a large dose and the V died from the allergic reaction to the drug. The actions of the doctor were held to be an intervening act which caused the death. The D was not guilty of murder. The stab wound was not the significant cause and was therefore de minimis.