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Rehman: COVID-19 care home fatal claims struck out; EWHC rejects material contribution and Fairchild risk causation (England and Wales)

Published on: 30 January 2026

Published by a LexisNexis PI & Clinical Negligence expert
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Rehman v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and others [2026] EWHC 6 (KB) What are the practical implications of this case?

This judgment reinforces judicial hesitation to let COVID-19 infection claims advance. In contrast to Edwards v 2 Sisters Food Group Ltd [2025] EWHC 1312 (KB), the claimants framed causation purely by alleging a material contribution to injury and a material increase in risk. However, the real-world evidential difficulties in identifying the route of infection were sufficient to bar reliance on material contribution. The Master also held that the same evidential gaps prevented the claims from fitting within the Fairchild exception of a material increase in risk of injury, drawing a clear line between COVID-19 and mesothelioma. Policy considerations plainly influenced the outcome. The Master observed that permitting a Fairchild-based claim here would open the floodgates, since it would require only that a claimant demonstrate a non-negligible uplift in circulating viral particles attributable to a tortious act or omission. Or, ...

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