First published in the Australian Health Law Bulletin 2026 and reproduced with the kind permission of Lexis Nexis
The New South Wales (NSW) Court of Appeal (Court of Appeal) recently dismissed an appeal by a plaintiff alleging that his orthopaedic surgeon had failed to warn of risks associated with total hip replacement and was negligent in his surgical technique and post-operative care. This case is an interesting example of the weight placed on contemporaneous notes, in a matter where the factual findings played an important role.
Background
Taylor v Woodgate saw the Court of Appeal, (per McHugh JA with Harrison CJ at CL and Free JA agreeing) called upon to revisit aspects of the decision in NSW District Court (NSWDC) decision in Taylor v Woodgate, in which Weber SC DCJ had dismissed a claim by the plaintiff/appellant alleging failure to warn of risks associated with total hip replacement, negligent surgical technique in revision surgery and negligence in post-operative care.
