Tony Bland

On 28 June 2017, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that David Duckenfield, the police commander, would be charged with manslaughter by gross negligence in relation to the deaths of the other 95 victims, but a charge could not apply in relation to Bland because he died outside of the time limit that was applicable for the time of the alleged offence.

This case is another which delegated to the Bolam standard. This was a test introduced by the courts in Bolam v. Friern Hospital Management Committee. The essence of the Bolam standard is such as to remove liability from medical staff if the treatment they have provided to a patient under the particular circumstances would have been followed by a responsible body of medical personnel, exercising due skill and care in the process. Under Bolam, a doctor need only show that he was following an accepted medical practice – even if that practice was only followed by a minority of medical professionals. This was one of the arguments put forward on behalf of Dr Howe; that it would be intolerable if Dr Howe was charged with murder for following what he submitted to be generally regarded as good medical practice.

A long-time critic of the Bland case, Dr Jacqueline Laing argues that the implications of the judicial decision deserve revisiting given recent Freedom of Information Act requests revealing financial incentives and staggering compliance in rolling out the 2008 NHS End-Of-Life Care strategy. She warns that Bland has been dangerously extended by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 so that novel third parties now have power to remove treatment.

It is difficult now [in 2006] to convey my shock on receiving his intimidating reply. Having stated that he [the Coroner] had no jurisdiction over any living person, he advised that I would risk a murder charge should I withdraw treatment. He made it clear that he "... could not countenance, condone, approve or give consent to any action or inaction which could be or could not be construed as being designed or intended to shorten or terminate the life of this young man. This particularly applies to the withholding of the necessities of life, such as food and drink." He requested a reply by return indicating that I had understood his opinion, and whether I would withdraw treatment.

In the aftermath of Bland's death, a priest and anti-abortion campaigner, Fr James Morrow, started a legal challenge to have the doctor who withdrew his treatment charged with murder, but this was rejected by the High Court in April 1994.

Tony Bland was one of two people injured at Hillsborough to have been diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state. The other was 22-year-old Andrew Devine, from the Liverpool area, who also suffered massive brain damage as a result of being deprived of oxygen due to crush injuries and in the immediate aftermath of the disaster his parents were warned by doctors that he was likely to die within a few months. In 1994, five years after the disaster and one year after the death of Tony Bland, Devine's family claimed to have seen him following a moving object with his eyes. By March 1997, Devine was able to communicate to others using a touch-sensitive buzzer to answer "yes" or "no" to questions asked. By the time of the disaster's 20th anniversary in April 2009, it was reported that he continues to show signs of awareness around him but his condition has barely improved since he was first reported to have emerged from the coma 12 years earlier.

Although Bland survived the initial crush, he had suffered severe brain damage and eventually became the disaster's 96th victim on 3 March 1993, aged 22, after being in a coma for nearly four years. He never regained consciousness and a legal ruling in November 1992 allowed doctors to withdraw his treatment at the request of his family, as there had been no sign of improvement in his condition and the doctors treating him advised that there was no reasonable possibility that he would ever emerge from his persistent vegetative state, and was unlikely to survive more than five years.

On 21 December 1993, Bradford coroner James Turnbull recorded a verdict of accidental death on Tony Bland. The same verdict was recorded on the other 95 victims (94 who died on the day of the disaster and a 95th who died a few days later) at the main Hillsborough inquest in March 1991, much to the dismay of the bereaved families who had been hoping for a verdict of unlawful killing and for manslaughter charges to be brought against the police who had been patrolling the match. On 26 April 2016, during the second inquest on all 96 victims, a verdict of Unlawful Killing was issued on all 96 victims.

Bland was an 18-year-old Liverpool supporter who travelled with two friends to Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough football ground for an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989. During the game, a crush behind the Liverpool goal ensued due to the police losing control of the situation outside the ground. A crush had formed at the outer gates, and the Liverpool fans were eventually let in through a side gate by order of Chief Superintendent Duckenfield. However, he failed to close the tunnel access first and thousands more Liverpool fans were sent down this tunnel into pens 3 and 4 which were already overcrowded due to the failure of police officers and club stewards to direct the fans to the appropriate areas. This resulted in the death of 94 people on that day, and a 95th victim in hospital a few days later.

In August 1989, four months after Bland was injured, Howe contacted Popper, the Sheffield coroner, who was both legally and medically qualified. He informed Popper of the plan to withdraw all treatment including food and water. This decision had been taken following full consultation with the family and in accordance with their wishes. Howe later said:

In R v Arthur a baby was born in 1981 with uncomplicated Down Syndrome and was rejected by the parents. Leonard Arthur, a paediatrician, wrote in his notes that the "Parents do not wish it to survive. Nursing care only." The baby died 69 hours later. During the trial, the defence provided evidence that the child was not physically healthy, resulting in a reduced charge of attempted murder, for which Arthur was acquitted.

Such was the importance of the case, and the obvious legal ramifications, it attracted a number of expert witnesses to give evidence. These included Professor Bryan Jennett who, along with Professor Fred Plum, coined the term 'persistent vegetative state' in 1972. Professor Jennett expressed the view that it would be in accordance with good medical practice in the case of Anthony Bland to withdraw the nasogastric artificial feeding. He considered that there was no benefit to continue with the treatment as there was no prospect of recovery of cognitive function.

Anthony David Bland (21 September 1970 – 3 March 1993) was a supporter of Liverpool F.C. injured in the Hillsborough disaster. He suffered severe brain damage that left him in a persistent vegetative state as a consequence of which the hospital, with the support of his parents, applied for a court order allowing him to "die with dignity". As a result, he became the first patient in English legal history to be allowed to die by the courts through the withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment including food and water.