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“Any decision about the care and treatment of a mentally incapacitated adult, including the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, must be taken in the patient’s best interests,” the Court of Appeal said on Tuesday. “There is no carve-out for ‘clinical decisions’,” the court added, overruling a decision by a highly experienced Court of Protection judge.

That conclusion is so broad that it cannot possibly be correct, a leading lawyer in the field of health and social care told me yesterday. Victoria Butler-Cole KC said the ruling means that practical advice issued by the British Medical Association to assist doctors when making decisions in the best interests of incapacitated adults is now wrong. She thought the ruling would cause widespread difficulties and should now be considered by the Supreme Court with the benefit of more time and full legal argument.

The one person who won’t benefit from any further appeal is the man at the heart of this tragic story. Robert Barnor, 68, suffered extensive and irreversible brain damage after a stroke nearly a year ago. He died last Friday, hours before a judge was due to consider whether a hospital’s decision to withdraw life-saving kidney dialysis would be in his best interests.

You can hear my interview with Butler-Cole (pictured) in the latest episode of A Lawyer Talks. My weekly podcast is a bonus for paying subscribers to A Lawyer Writes. Everyone else can hear a short taster by clicking the ► symbol above.