The Court of Appeal has given judgment in Webster v Liddington [2014] EWCA Civ 560 (‘the Isolagen litigation’). John Whitting QC led for the MPS and the MDU in this class action.
Isolagen was an innovative cosmetic procedure which was marketed as a natural alternative to bovine collagen and botox. One of the key preliminary issues was whether the individual clinicians who administered the treatment were responsible for claims made in Isolagen’s promotional literature. The Court of Appeal found that, absent an express disclaimer, they were. The implications of this judgment could hardly be overstated. All clinicians who distribute any literature or marketing material to a patient to inform him about the nature of a proposed treatment must now ensure that they explicitly disclaim any knowledge of, or responsibility for, its contents. Otherwise they may be found liable for any inaccuracy contained within it.
