£l00 DAMAGES AWARDED

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3713, 5 November 1927, Page 3

£loo DAMAGES AWARDED

AGAINST TIMARU DOCTORS. FOR ALLEGED WRONGFUL OPERATION. Timaru, Last Night. At the Supreme Court Bernard Conlon, a storeman, as guardian of Bernard Philip Conlon, 12 years of age, claimed £6OO from the South Canterbury Hospital Board and Drs. W. H. Unwin and T. L. Pan; for alleged wrongful performance of an operation when the lad was a patient in the Timaru public hospital. Plaintiff abandoned his claim against the Hospital Board, Mr. C. A. Treadwell, Wellington, appeared for the doctors named Mr. F. D. Sargent, Christchurch, and Mr. S. J. O’Connell, Timaru, for the plaintiff. The case occupied a considerable time in hearing. 1 'The case for the plaintiff was that a shaving of skin had been taken from his leg thigh to graft on another patient without his consent having been obtained. The defence was that the lad when approached by Dr. Parr (who was the medical superintendent of the Timaru Public Hospital) agreed to the operation in the presence of a witness. The operation was performed by Dr. Unwin who before the operation was given to understand that consent had been obtained. The full jury which considered the case was unable to agree whether plaintiff had given Inis consent or not, but expressed the opinion that the lad was not old enough to give consenet for such an operation. They awarded £IOO damages against defendant. Mr. Treadwell asked and was given leave to move within fourteen days for judgment for defendants or for a new trial on the grounds that the verdict was against the weight of evidence and that the damages were excessive. The Hospital Board was allowed £26 costs.