This article argues for fiduciary recognition of doctors, as violations of patient trust could justify fiduciary redress.
Doctors unquestionably occupy a position of trust with respect to their patients. Since Breen v Williams (1996) 186 CLR 71, however, Australian equity has – with some limited exceptions – refused to recognise doctors as fiduciaries. The present article argues that when patient trust is violated – such as when doctors refuse to provide access to medical records, sexually exploit patients, fail to disclose medical error, or fail to disclose medical research conditions – fiduciary redress should be available.
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Anderson et al. (2025) studied this question.
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