Liability of voluntary and state hospitals

In most European countries, it was an established rule that a person could not sue the state (or the King) for its actions in the ordinary courts. This immunity declined as the state became more active. In Austria, doctors employed in state hospitals benefited from the immunity of state officials established in 1806. From 1914, the courts decided that curing patients was not a function protected by this immunity. The legislator passed a Hospitals Act in 1920 setting out the duties that hospitals owed to their patients.

In England, it was not until 1940 that the courts were willing to impose liability on the hospitals for the acts of a doctor. Doctors were independent professionals, not under orders, so if harm was wrongfully caused by a doctor on the hospital premises, it is the doctors who should pay.