Wissa v Associated Newspapers Ltd
2014
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
United Kingdom
CORAM
- THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE TUGENDHAT
Areas of Law
- Civil Procedure
- Media Law
- Tort Law
2014
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The case involved a GP suing a newspaper publisher for libel concerning an article about the patient's death. The court struck out the claim, ruling that the claimant failed to specify the exact defamatory words and which version of the publication he complained of. The court emphasized the necessity for specificity in defamation claims and noted that the article's multiple updates complicated the matter.
Judgment
Mr Justice Tugendhat :
On 6 March 2014 the Defendant issued an application notice asking for an order that the claim in this libel action be struck out pursuant to CPR 3.4 (2)(a) and/or (b) on the grounds that the statements of case disclose no reasonable grounds for bringing the claim and/or it is an abuse of the court’s process.
The background to the action is the tragic death of a young man who was the patient of the Claimant and of two other GPs with whom he practised.
The claim form was issued on 31 January 2014. The brief details of the claim as stated on that form are:
“1. The claim is for libel.
2. The Defendant is the author of a publication on its website titled, “Patient 34 died from a brain tumour the size of a tennis ball after THREE doctors mistook symptoms for depression”.
3. The publication is defamatory in (a) claiming that the diagnosis of depression was wrong (b) that the General Medical Council which is the professional regulatory body found that the care given by the Claimant was below the standard of a reasonably competent general practitioner”.
The Particulars of Claim are dated 27 January 2014. It is necessary to set them out in full:
Parties
“1. The Claimant is a general practitioner at the Robert Frew Medical Centre in the Wickford area of Essex. He is a Black British Citizen of African Origin. The Claimant obtained his Primary medical qualification in Egypt in 1975 following which he obtained his postgraduate qualification in Obstetrics and gynaecology in the United Kingdom.
The Claimant has been a medical doctor for more than 35 years and has worked 30 years in the NHS at various levels and became a Partner at the Robert Frew Medical Practice in 1996.
The Defendant is a National Newspaper and Website publishing company in the UK. The Defendant is the publisher of the Daily Mail Newspaper and its online version called Mail Online.
Publication
Since on or about 05 July 2013, the Defendant has published the following words which referred to and were defamatory of the Claimant on its website at with a caption ‘Patient, 34, died from a brain tumour the size of a tennis ball after THREE doctors mistook symptoms for depression’. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2356636/Chris-Buckley-34-died-brain-tumor-THREE-doctors-mistook-symptoms-depression.html
Within the publication are statements such as ‘…..inadequate care was provided by the GP” and “in its report, the GMC concluded that the overall standard of care wa