Introduction to medical law and decision-making

Legal and ethical foundations of autonomy and patient rights

Informed consent: legal principles, information, and understanding

The legislative framework around capacity and supported decision-making

Best interests and substitute decision-making frameworks

Responsibility and accountability in medical practice

Medical negligence: duty of care, breach, factual and legal causation with relevant case law

1. You will undertake an independent research project on a contemporary issue in medical law. The project must demonstrate a clear understanding of relevant legal principles and debates, supported by independent research.

You may choose from a range of topics covered on the module, such as:

informed consent
mental capacity and decision-making
responsibility and accountability in medical law
medical negligence

2. You will submit a professional reflective commentary examining how their understanding of medical law has developed through studying the module.

The reflection should focus on:

initial assumptions or perceptions about medical law
how engagement with module topics (such as consent, capacity, responsibility, or negligence) has shaped or challenged those assumptions; and
how knowledge of medical law informs ethical awareness, judgement, and future professional or academic development.

This assessment is reflective rather than analytical and does not require extended legal critique or detailed doctrinal analysis.

Contact time will include a mixture of lectures and workshops.

Lectures will focus on introducing and contextualising key concepts within medical law. Lectures will be interactive in nature, incorporating questioning, discussion and analysis of contemporary case examples to support active engagement with legal principles and their application in practice.

Workshops will allow students to further embed their learning and explore the topics in greater depth. This module will be interdisciplinary to accommodate students from both law and non-law courses.

1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of complex principles and debates in medical law.

Knowledge and Understanding

2. Conduct independent legal research by identifying, evaluating, and using appropriate legal and interdisciplinary sources to investigate a contemporary issue in medical law.

Research Skills

3. Reflect critically on how understanding of medical law has developed through engagement with issues of consent, capacity, responsibility, and professional decision-making.

Reflection

4. Demonstrate personal and professional development by evaluating how knowledge of medical law informs ethical awareness, judgement and your future professional practice.

Personal development and entrepreneurship

Legal databases with access to statute, case law and journal articles.

Farell A-M and others, Mason & McCall Smith’s Law & Medical Ethics (12th edn, OUP 2023)

Herring, J, Medical Law and Ethics (10th edn, OUP 2025)

Jackson, E, Medical Law (6th edn, OUP 2022)

This module explores key issues in medical law, focusing on decision-making, responsibility, and patient rights in medical settings. You will examine topics such as informed consent, mental capacity, and medical negligence, and consider how legal principles shape professional judgement and accountability. The module encourages you to engage with contemporary debates in medical law, develop independent research skills, and reflect on how legal knowledge informs ethical awareness and future professional practice. Designed for both law and non-law students, the module offers you a flexible and accessible approach to understanding medical law in context.