Hall v Thomas and others

Negligence – Causation. The claimant had been accepted by a junior academy of a well know football club when he sustained an injury which required surgery. Following the operation, he underwent a rehabilitation programme under the supervision of the club physiotherapist. The injury failed to resolve satisfactorily and the claimant was left with a knee which was unfit to withstand the rigours of a professional football career and had abandoned any lingering hope he had to pursue such a career following the catastrophic happenings to his knee. The claimant brought a claim in negligence against the general practitioner, the physiotherapist and the club. The Queen's Bench Division held that it was impossible to hold that the claimant has established any breach of duty against the second defendant and thus the third defendant. The admitted negligence of the first defendant had caused 50% of the septic arthritis induced damage to the claimant's knee.