Hawkins v. McGee Case Brief
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Case Brief Summary & Legal Analysis
tl;dr: A doctor promised a patient a “100 percent perfect hand” but the surgery failed. The court established the proper measure of damages as the difference between the value of the promised perfect hand and the hand’s actual resulting condition.
Legal Significance: This foundational case establishes the “expectation interest” as the standard measure of damages for breach of contract, aiming to place the non-breaching party in the position they would have occupied had the contract been fully performed.
Hawkins v. McGee Law School Study Guide
Use this case brief structure for your own legal analysis. Focus on the IRAC methodology to excel in law school exams and cold calls.
Case Facts & Court Holding
Key Facts & Case Background
The plaintiff, George Hawkins, had a scarred right hand from a childhood burn. The defendant, Dr. McGee, a surgeon, solicited the opportunity to perform a skin grafting operation. To induce consent from the plaintiff and his father, Dr. McGee allegedly stated, “I will guarantee to make the hand a hundred per cent perfect hand.” The plaintiff agreed to the surgery based on this assurance. The operation was unsuccessful; skin grafted from the plaintiff’s chest grew thick hair on his palm, and the hand’s condition worsened. The plaintiff sued for breach of a special contract, not for medical malpractice. The jury found for the plaintiff. The defendant appealed, challenging, among other things, the trial court’s instructions to the jury regarding the calculation of damages, which had allowed recovery for pain and suffering and for the negative change in the hand’s condition.
Court Holding & Legal Precedent
Issue: What is the proper measure of damages for the breach of a special contract in which a physician guarantees a specific surgical outcome?
The correct measure of damages is the expectation interest, which is the Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in repre
IRAC Legal Analysis
About IRAC analysis
IRAC (Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion) is the structure professors expect in exam answers. Each LSD.Law brief states the issue, the governing rule with citations, the court's application of that rule, and the conclusion - the same reasoning pattern you will use on exams and in practice.
Legal Issue
What is the proper measure of damages for the breach of a special contract in which a physician guarantees a specific surgical outcome?
Conclusion
Hawkins v. McGee is a seminal case in American contract law that Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud ex
Legal Rule
The measure of damages in a breach of contract action is the Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo cons
Legal Analysis
The court determined that the goal of contract damages is to put Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proi
Flash-to-Full Case Opinions
Flash Summary
- A doctor’s explicit guarantee of a specific result (e.g., a “perfect