The courts are reluctant to allow medical malpractice to break the chain of causation. R v Smith (1959) 2 QB 35 FACTS: Smith stabbed the victim during a fight at their barracks and pierced his lung. Another soldier tried to carry him to the medical station but dropped him twice on the way. On his arrival it was not realised how seriously ill the victim was and he received treatment that was not only inappropriate but positively harmful and he died a couple of hours later. HELD: Smith was convicted of murder, because it was held that his actions remained a substantial and operating cause. The medical negligence, while a cause, was not a sufficient cause to sever the chain of causation.