GP to appeal decision that failure to refer patient for heart tests led to spinal injury

A GP who was found liable for a serious spinal injury sustained by a patient whom he had failed to refer to hospital for tests has applied for permission to take the case to the Court of Appeal.

The High Court ruled that GP Majella Okeahialam was liable for the injury to Tahir Younas, then aged 43, who fell and hit his head after fainting while crossing a car park in January 2014.1 In October 2013 Younas had had an electrocardiogram at the GP’s surgery that showed electrical abnormalities, but the doctor failed to refer him to a hospital cardiology department.

The GP admitted negligence, but a claimant in a clinical negligence case must also prove that the negligence caused the injury. Younas’s lawyers argued …