Doctor owed no duty of care to job applicant

Occupational health physicians who advise employers not to hire a job applicant on medical grounds cannot be sued for negligence by the job seeker, the Court of Appeal ruled last week.

Three senior judges rejected an appeal by Carmelita Kapfunde from a county court ruling that Dr Diana Daniel owed no duty to Ms Kapfunde to give careful advice when she advised Abbey National not to take her on its permanent staff.

Ms Kapfunde, aged 42, who was born in the West Indies, has sickle cell anaemia, which is most common in people of West Indian or African descent. …