The appellant surgeon mistakenly cut the respondent's common bile duct during laparoscopic gallbladder surgery.
At trial, the judge found that the surgeon used proper techniques but breached the standard of care by failing to adopt reasonable precautions based on 'common sense'.
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial, holding that the trial judge erred in relying on common sense to find standard medical practices inadequate in a complex medical negligence case where expert evidence conflicted.
