Principle Archive

The word "treatment" is omnibus and vague; it cannot accommodate the specific significant act of amputation of a part of the body.

In the absence of medical evidence that a minor patient lacked the capacity to give consent, there is no justification for ignoring the patient to obtain…

A patient must be given sufficient information about the proposed treatment to enable him to give an informed consent; the duty is to warn of all…

Amputation of a patient's finger done intentionally and without the consent of the patient or his guardian constitutes battery.

For unliquidated pecuniary damages, the plaintiff is entitled to an interlocutory judgment (final as to liability but interlocutory as to amount), followed by an application for…

A court is not entitled to enter summary or default judgment on a claim for unliquidated pecuniary damages without taking evidence for the assessment of damages;…

Order 24 rule 11 of the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules applies only to claims not specifically provided for in the preceding rules;…

For a contradiction in the evidence of prosecution witnesses to be fatal, it must be material, substantial, and fundamental to the main issues, creating doubt that…

Whenever there is an amendment to a charge after the commencement of a trial, the accused has the right to recall witnesses who had already testified…

Once a charge is amended, a host of rights inure to the accused under sections 208(2), 209, 210, and 211 of the Criminal Procedure Code as…

Section 208(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code gives the court discretionary power to amend a charge at any time before judgment is delivered, including after addresses…

The Supreme Court will not normally interfere with concurrent findings of fact unless there is a miscarriage of justice or a violation of some principles of…