A patient attended hospital with severe vomiting and was sent home without examination by the doctor on duty. He died of arsenic poisoning that could not have been treated in time even if he had been examined. In Barnett v Chelsea and Kensington Hospital, why did the claim fail?

Correct answer: D) The breach of duty was not the factual cause of the death under the 'but for' test

Explanation

Although the doctor breached his duty by failing to examine the patient, the patient would have died anyway. The 'but for' test asks whether the harm would have occurred but for the defendant's breach; here it would have, so causation was not established. The case is a standard illustration of factual causation.