In McDougall v Richmond Adult Community College UKEAT/0589/06, the EAT held that someone who satisfied the conditions for compulsory admission to hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 was not automatically "disabled" for the purposes of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

The EAT also held that, when deciding whether an impairment has a long-term effect, tribunals should take account of all the information available at the hearing. They should not restrict themselves to asking what the likelihood of recurrence was at the date of the alleged discriminatory act.