Ms Bernadette Richards

Biography/ Background

Bernadette began her professional life as an English and Drama teacher, then moved on to the RAAF where she served as an Education Officer for many years. Along the way, she studied law and decided to combine her interests in education and the law and move into an academic role.

Bernadette has worked at the University of Adelaide for a number of years and her research focus is in the area of tort law in general with a specific focus on medical law and ethics. Bernadette is an active member of the Ethics Centre of South Australia and is currently the holder of an Australian Research Discovery Grant (along with other members of the Ethics Centre) entitled: 'Consent in the void: moral, legal and community values in decisions about human biological donations.'

Bernadette currently serves on the University Human Research Ethics Committee and has recently been appointed as a member of the South Australian Council on Reproductive Technology.

Teaching Interests

Medical Law and Ethics
Tort Law

Qualifications

B.A., Dip Ed, LLB (Hons)

Research Interests

Medical Law and Ethics (with a particular emphasis on consent) and Tort Law

Publications

Grants

Chief Investigator, Australian Research Discovery Grant, “Consent in the void: moral, legal and community values in decisions before birth and after death.” 2006-2009.

Adviser, ARC Linkage Grant: Can and should we link data at a national level? Vaccine safetysurveillance: A case study Approved: Primary RFCD 3212 PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

Books

"Torts Law in Principle", 4th ed with Sam Blay and Andrew Gibson

Book Chapter: The Law of Torts, in A guide to Arbitration Practice in Australia, 2006.

Articles

Book review, 'Will I still be me? A journey through a transplant' (2008) Health Expectations 11 317.

'Organ Donation After Cardiac Death: legal and ethical justifications for antemortem interventions,' (2007) 187 Medical Journal of Australia 168 (with Wendy Rogers)

Book review, 'Patient-Centred Ethics and Communication at the End of Life' (2007) Health Expectations 10 (2), 206

"PD v Dr Nicholas Harvey: A Threat to Confidentiality or Straightforward Breach of Duty?", (2003) 7 UWSLR 161

"Introducing the Internet to the Law School: Some Lessons from Adelaide" (2001) 15(3) International Review of Law Computers and Technology, 369

Conference Papers

'Directed biological donations: Do embryos and organs raise the same issues?' 9th World Congress of Bioethics, Ryeka, Croatia September 2008. (with Sheryl De Lacey and Wendy Rogers).

'Donation After Cardiac Death', National Organ Donation Summit, July 2008

'Legal and ethical considerations: Donation after cardiac death' November 2007, ABA/ANZIHLE Joint Conference (Health, Bioethics and the Law: Inclusions and Exclusions.'(with Associate Professor Wendy Rogers)

'Rogers v Whitaker: Principles, perceptions and practicalities' September 2005, 12th AAPAE Conference.

"The Role of the Internet in the LLB" Law Via the Internet 2001, 3rd AustLII Conference on Computerisation of Law via the Internet

Presentations

International Course for Organ Donor & Transplant Co-Ordinators: Legal & Ethical Issues Surrounding Organ Donation (with Associate Professor Wendy Rogers)July 2008

National Organ Donation Collaborative Learning Session: 'Legal and Ethical Issues Surrounding Organ Donation'(with Associate Professor Wendy Rogers), May 2008

Entry last updated: Monday, 8 Sep 2008