Spencer Keen & Karen Jackson consider discrimination arising in consequence of disability
- How many links can be included in the chain of causation for disability discrimination claims under EqA 2010, s 15?
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To what extent does the disability need to be the effective cause of the treatment?
The notion of discrimination against a disabled person “because of something arising in consequence” of disability was introduced by s 15 of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) in October 2010. Unusually, the explanatory notes to EqA 2010 make explicit reference to the legislature’s attempt to reverse the legal consequences of a decision of the House of Lords: that of London Borough of Lewisham v Malcolm [2008] UKHL 43, [2008] 4 All ER 525. The notes say that, following Malcolm, the equivalent provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 “no longer provided the degree of protection from disability-related discrimination that is intended for disabled people” and go on to explain that the new s 15 of EqA 2010 “is aimed at re-establishing an appropriate balance between enabling
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