R v Smith [1959] 2 QB 35

The defendant, a soldier, got in a fight at an army barracks and stabbed another soldier. The injured soldier was taken to the medics but was dropped twice on route. Once there the treatment given was described as palpably wrong. They failed to diagnose that his lung had been punctured. The soldier died. The defendant was convicted of murder and appealed contending that if the victim had received the correct medical treatment he would not have died.

Held:

The stab wound was an operating cause of death and therefore the conviction was upheld.

Teacher resources on legal causation

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