Papers of Felix Eberlie Regarding the Case of Shewry v. Maybury 1929: A Case of Alleged Medical Negligence

Defence papers in the case of Shewry v. Maybury, heard in the High Court of Justice, King's Bench Division, June 1929. The case concerned allegations of malpractice and negligence against Dr Lysander Maybury in his treatment of an infant for syphilis at a time when Felix Eberlie was Maybury's assistant in Southsea. Eberlie acted as a material witness in the case as he had taken part in the diagnosis and treatment.

The Plaintiff in the case was Leslie Eric Shewry (an infant) represented by his father Inspector Marcus Sidney Shewry of Portsmouth Borough Police Force. The Defendent was Dr Lysander Maybury of 9 Hampshire Terrace, Southsea. His assistant present at the time of the events was Dr W. F. Eberlie, who in 1929 was residing at Flint Cottage, Luton.

The events disputed in the case took place in August 1920 when the infant Leslie Shewry was 14 days old. It was alleged that Dr Maybury diagnosed him to be suffering from congenital syphilis and injected a preparation known as N.A.B. (neoarsphenamine, also known as Neosalvarsan or Salvarsan) in the neighbourhood of the child's brain, with the alleged result that he had convulsive fits and became an incurable mentally defective epileptic.

Maybury engaged Oswald Hempson, the Medical Defense Union and BMA solicitor of the firm Hempsons Solicitors, Bedford House, 33 Henrietta Street, Strand, London WC2. Shewry was represented by solicitor Walter H. Bolitho, 40 Union Street, Portsea.

The collection comprises mainly letters to Eberlie from Maybury and copies of various defence witness statements. There are also some manuscript notes taken during the court case, probably by Eberlie who was present througout.

1928-1929

1 file

Presented to the library at Wellcome Collection 07/11/2011.

Wilhelm Felix Eberlie (born Eberli), MB, BChir, practiced as a GP for most of his life in Luton, Bedfordshire. Discharged from the Royal Navy in 1919 after the First World War ended, Eberlie spent two years as an assistant to established practitioner Dr Lysander Maybury in Southsea before settling in Luton.
More detailed biographical information on Eberlie can be found in his memoirs: Surgeon and Physician, 1919 to 1966, in Southsea, Luton and Tenterden : the memoirs of Felix Eberlie, edited by Dick Eberlie (Tavistock, 2009). A copy is held in the Wellcome Library. Pages 11-13 refer to the case and include his summary of and views on the events and the case. An obituary can be found in the BMJ Vol 292, 8 Mar 1986.

The Shewry v. Maybury Case, Jun 1929, is significant in medico-legal history and cases of medical negligence and malpractice. The case was reported at the time in both the Lancet and the BMJ. It concerned allegations of malpractice and negligence against Dr Lysander Maybury in his treatment of an infant for congenital syphilis. The case was brought by the infant's father Leslie Shewry in 1928 and heard in the High Court in 1929. Shewry was sueing for damages. The outcome of the trial was not solid. The jury failed to agree upon a vital question which the Lord Chief Justice had put to them to answer, i.e. was the current condition of the infant caused by the treatment administered by the defendent? (Although the jury did agree that the defendent had believed the infant had congenital syphilis, that he was negligent in his diagnosis and negligent in his general treatment). The judge was therefore unable to enter judgement for either party on this vital question. The case was never retried. The plaintiff was nearly ruined by the trial costs. Although Maybury's costs were also high he was in a superior financial position.

The material was presented to the Library by Dick Eberlie, son of Dr Felix Eberlie who was Dr Lysander's assistant at the time the alleged negligence took place. The documents were found in the former home of Felix Eberlie.