Barnett v Kensington and Chelsea Hospital Management Committee [1969] 1 Q.B. 428

What's the case about?
Mr Barnett was employed as a security guard at the Chelsea College of Science and Technology.  In the early morning of New Year's day 1966 he began to feel unwell.  He left work and went to his local hospital, St Stephens.  The accident and emergency nurse was unsure what to do with Mr Barnett, and telephoned for the doctor.  The doctor refused to see Mr Barnett, and suggested instead that he go home and call on his own doctor if he continued to feel unwell.

Mr Barnett went back to work, lay down, and was later found to be gravely ill.  He was taken back to hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.  It was discovered that Mr Barnett had been poisoned with arsenic. His widow brought a claim in negligence against the hospital.  She sought compensation from the hospital on the grounds that had the doctor done his duty and seen Mr Barnett, he would not have died.

Where is it on the map?
The hospital is at point R and the college at point S.

Who won?
The hospital.  The court agreed with Mrs Barnett that the doctor had been negligent when he refused to see Mr Barnett.  But the court also found that as Mr Barnett had been poisoned by arsenic he would likely have died even if the doctor hadn't been negligent.

What's the principle?
This case illustrates the test of factual causation in tort, often known as the 'but for' test: but for the defendant's negligence would the claimant have suffered loss?  If not, then factual causation is satisfied and the other elements of the claim can be considered.  If the answer if yes, the loss would have occurred anyway and the defendant will not be liable, regardless of whether they acted negligently.

What's it like today?
Most of the site of St Stephen's Hospital is now taken up by the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, which opened in 1993.  The remaining part of St Stephen's Hospital is now known as the St Stephen's Centre and is home to a HIV/AIDS research centre:

Mr Barnett had been working at the Chelsea College of Science and Technology on Manresa Road when he was taken ill.  A brief history of the building, along with pictures, can be found here.  Chelsea College of Science and Technology later became part of King's College London.  The building on Manresa Road was converted into flats in 2005.  The facade has been kept, but the interior has been remodelled.  According to the developer, the flats sold for record prices.