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The County Court noted that the High Court in the Savage case had accepted that, where the allegations were of clinical negligence, the measure of the duty owed to both voluntary and involuntary patients was as outlined in Powell v. the United Kingdom ((dec.), no. 45305/99, ECHR 2000-V) and in R (Takoushis) v. Inner North London Coroner and Another ([2006] 1WLR 46) namely, that there had to be at least gross negligence of a kind sufficient to sustain a charge of manslaughter.

It accepted that simple negligence in the care of a patient resulting in his or her death was not sufficient to amount to a breach of the State's obligation under Article 2 to protect life, although the position might be different where gross negligence or manslaughter had been alleged (relying, inter alia, on R (Goodson) v Bedfordshire and Luton Coroner [2004] EWHC 2931 (Admin), itself based on Powell v. the United Kingdom ((dec.), no. 45305/99, ECHR 2000-V).

The Trust contended before the High Court that the extent of the obligations of health authorities to protect a patient's life was to be found in Powell v. the United Kingdom ((dec.), no. 45305/99, ECHR 2000-V) namely, that the treatment alleged amounted either to gross negligence or to manslaughter.

The County Court concluded that it was unlikely that any appeal in Savage would render the Trust and Council liable under Article 2 because an allegation of ordinary negligent medical care was insufficient of itself to establish a breach of Article 2 of the Convention (Powell v. the United Kingdom, no. 45305/99, (dec.) 4 May 2000).

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In particular, it has considered whether there is an arguable claim of a breach of Article 2 of the Convention and whether civil proceedings for establishing any liability and, if so, awarding non-pecuniary damages were available to the applicant in that respect (Z and Others v. the United Kingdom [GC], no. 29392/95, § 109, ECHR 2001-V; Keenan v. the United Kingdom, no. 27229/95, §§ 123-133, ECHR 2001-III; Paul and Audrey Edwards v. the United Kingdom, no. 46477/99, §§ 96-102, ECHR 2002-II; and Bubbins v. the United Kingdom, no. 50196/99, §§ 173/176, ECHR 2005-II).

The most therefore that could be recovered under the 1934 Act on behalf of the deceased's estate would have been the funeral expenses (as regards the 1976 and 1934 Acts, see the above-cited Keenan judgment, § 129 and Bubbins v. the United Kingdom, no. 50196/99, § 172, ECHR 2005-II).

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In particular, it has considered whether there is an arguable claim of a breach of Article 2 of the Convention and whether civil proceedings for establishing any liability and, if so, awarding non-pecuniary damages were available to the applicant in that respect (Z and Others v. the United Kingdom [GC], no. 29392/95, § 109, ECHR 2001-V; Keenan v. the United Kingdom, no. 27229/95, §§ 123-133, ECHR 2001-III; Paul and Audrey Edwards v. the United Kingdom, no. 46477/99, §§ 96-102, ECHR 2002-II; and Bubbins v. the United Kingdom, no. 50196/99, §§ 173/176, ECHR 2005-II).

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In particular, it has considered whether there is an arguable claim of a breach of Article 2 of the Convention and whether civil proceedings for establishing any liability and, if so, awarding non-pecuniary damages were available to the applicant in that respect (Z and Others v. the United Kingdom [GC], no. 29392/95, § 109, ECHR 2001-V; Keenan v. the United Kingdom, no. 27229/95, §§ 123-133, ECHR 2001-III; Paul and Audrey Edwards v. the United Kingdom, no. 46477/99, §§ 96-102, ECHR 2002-II; and Bubbins v. the United Kingdom, no. 50196/99, §§ 173/176, ECHR 2005-II).