<P> The defendant entered the home of an 18 - year - old woman and asked for sex . When she declined his advances, he stabbed her four times; the wound penetrated her lung which necessitated both a blood transfusion and surgery in order to save her life . After refusing treatment because of her religious beliefs (as a Jehovah's Witness) she died . Medical evidence showed that she would not have died if she had received treatment . In his final speech to the jury, counsel for the Crown accepted that the girl's refusal to have a blood transfusion was a cause of her death . The prosecution did not challenge the defence evidence that the defendant was suffering from diminished responsibility . The defence argued that the victim's refusal to accept medical treatment broke the chain of causation between the stabbing and her death . </P> <P> Lawton LJ ruled that, as a matter of public policy, "those who use violence on others must take their victims as they find them .", invoking the thin - skull rule . The defendant's conviction of manslaughter was upheld . </P> <P> The thin - skull rule . </P>

Will a victim's refusal of medical treatment break the chain of causation