PI Brief Update

Interrogation of draft judgments: Re (Care Proceedings: Fact-Finding) [2023] EWCA Civ 38 - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

27/02/23. Re (Care Proceedings: Fact-Finding)[2023] EWCA Civ 38 considered the correct approach for parties to take in relation to draft judgments produced by the Court.

Backgroun...

Case Summary: H v S - Spencers Solicitors Limited

01/02/23. Accident Date: 13/01/2020

Settlement Date: 09/08/2022

TOTAL GROSS SETTLEMENT: £17,887.00

Liability

The Claimant, aged 40, was involved in a road traffic accident.

The Claima...

If a claim is amended to add a personal injury component part way through litigation, QOCS protection still applies to the entirety of the matter - Grace Corby, Temple Garden Chambers

12/01/23. Munira Pathan v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2022] EWHC 3244 (KB)

The Claimant (and Appellant) was arrested by police officers and then detained at a police...

Court’s Approach to Undertakings Given by Parties in the Settlement of a Claim - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

16/12/22. Smith v Backhouse [2022] EWHC 3011 (KB) considers whether the Court can refuse to accept undertakings which a party has agreed to provide to the Court as part of the se...

A Reminder That Interlocutory Cost Orders Can Be Made Against QOCS Protected Claimants - Grace Corby, Temple Garden Chambers

14/12/22. Atmani & Ors v Royal Borough of Kensington & Ors [2022] EWHC 2618 (KB) - The court considered the costs consequences of the decisions made in a CMC. The court o...

Case Summary: G v C - Stephanie Robinson, Spencers Solicitors Limited

01/12/22. Case Name: G v C

Accident Date: 12/11/2020

Settlement Date: 26/04/2022

TOTAL GROSS SETTLEMENT: £6,000.00

Background and Liability

G was aged 54 at the time of her road traff...

High Court Rejects Claimant’s Application for Indemnity Costs: Evans v R&V Allgemeine Verischer [2022] EWHC 2688 (KB) - Grace Corby, Temple Garden Chambers

25/11/22. After succeeding on the substantive personal injury claim, the Claimant sought indemnity costs against the Defendant. While the Judge accepted that the Defendant’s cond...

The Court of Appeal Clarifies The Meaning of 'Proceedings' In CPR 44.15 - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

23/11/22. Achille v Lawn Tennis Association Ltd [2022] Ewca Civ 1407

Introduction

As Males LJ explained at [4], ‘CPR 44.15 allows a defendant to enforce a costs order made against a...

Case Summary: W v L - Steven Barke, Spencers Solicitors Limited

09/11/22. Case Name: W v L

Accident Date: 24/12/2018

Settlement Date: 20/07/2022

TOTAL GROSS SETTLEMENT: £35,000.00

Background and Liability

The Claimant, aged 51, was involved in a r...

Gestwin Principles Applied in the Context of a Road Traffic Accident and the Potential for Eyewitness Accounts to Take Precedence Over Expert Evidence Affirmed - Grace Corby, Temple Garden Chambers

20/10/22. Barrow (By His Litigation Friend and Grandfather Mr Hugh Barrow) & Ors v Merret and Anr [2022] EWCA Civ 1241. The Claimant unsuccessfully appealed the dismissal at ...

Application of QOCS protection in a 'mixed' claim: Wokingham Borough Council v Arshad [2022] EWHC 2419 (KB) - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

18/10/22. Mr Justice Bourne considered the application of QOCS protection to claimants who have brought ‘mixed’ claims i.e. a claim for both personal injury damages and other spe...

Case Summary: S v M - Stephanie Robinson, Spencers Solicitors Limited

06/10/22. Case Name: S v M

Accident Date: 30/09/2020

Settlement Date: 28/04/2022

TOTAL GROSS SETTLEMENT: £6,675.00

Background and Liability

S, at the age of 39, was involved in a road...

Parties Can Contract Out of the Fixed Costs Regime: A Reminder for Caution when Drafting Consent Orders: Doyle M&D Foundations & Building Services Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 927 - Grace Corby, Temple Garden Chambers

20/09/22. A claim for damages for personal injuries had settled for £5,000 by a consent order (“the Order”). The Order provided that the Defendant would pay the Claimant “ such co...

State Immunity and Personal Injury in the High Court: Al-Masarir v Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [2022] EWHC 2199 (QB) - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

16/09/22. Under section 1(1) of the State Immunity Act 1978, ‘[a] State is immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of the United Kingdom except as provided in the following pr...

Striking out claims in evolving areas of the law: HXA v Surrey CC [2022] EWCA Civ 1196 - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

15/09/22. The Court of Appeal considered the circumstances in which local authorities owe a duty of care to children to whom they provide child protection services. In so doing, ...

Case Report: B v X - Helen Reynolds, Spencers Solicitors

07/09/22. Case Name: B v X
Court Name: Nottingham County Court
Accident Date: 04/03/2017
Settlement Date: 11/02/2022
Total gross settlement: £110,000.00

Background and Inju...

Section 57 & Substantial Injustice - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers

14/07/22. In Woodger v Hallas ,[1] the Defendant appealed against the trial judge’s failure to dismiss the claim in its entirety following a finding that the Claimant had been fund...

Hill v Ministry of Justice [2022] EWHC 370 (QB) - Rochelle Powell, Temple Garden Chambers

17/06/22. The case concerned an appeal against the order of Recorder Bright QC dismissing a claim for personal injury suffered by Mr Hill (“the appellant”) in the course of his d...

PI Practitioner: Ex Turpi Causa Oritur Actio - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers

14/06/22. In Lewis-Ranwell v G4S Health Services (UK) Ltd & Ors,  the First, Third, and Fourth Defendants applied for an order striking out the claim against them on the g...

Former Regional Costs Judge confirms on appeal that County Court decision was wrong to refuse Litigation Friend expenses for an ATE Premium - Daniel Slade, Express Solicitors

30/05/22. On 21st April 2022, before HHJ Lethem, helpful guidance was provided to assist County Courts commonly falling into error in refusing expenses to Litigation Friends who ...

Third Party Cost Order Against Expert Witness Overturned on Appeal: Robinson v Liverpool University Hospitals Nhs Trust [2023] EWHC 21 (Kb) - Grace Corby, Temple Garden Chambers

24/02/23. The first instance Judge had erred in making a third-party costs order against the Claimant’s expert in a clinical negligence claim

Background

The Claimant had brought a ...

Mixed Injury Cases and the Civil Liability Act 2018: Hassam v Rabot [2023] EWCA Civ 19 - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

23/02/23. ‘ As a general rule, the quantification of damages for [pain, suffering, and loss of amenity, or PSLA] is governed by the common law ’: see [11] of Nicola Davies LJ’s judgm...

The Court of Appeal on the rules of the road, and of road traffic litigation - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

23/01/23. In Taylor v Raspin [2022] EWCA Civ 1613, the Court of Appeal gave guidance on reasonable driving and the adjudication of road traffic litigation.

As William Davis LJ sum...

Time limits for the assessment of a CFA - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

17/01/23. Menzies v Oakwood Solicitors Limited [2022] EWHC 3199 (KB) considered the approach to a solicitor’s deduction under a conditional fee agreement (“CFA”). On the particul...

Case Summary: T v S - Helen Reynolds, Spencers Solicitors Limited

06/01/23. Case Name: T v S
Accident Date: 08/08/2019
Settlement Date: 19/07/2022
TOTAL GROSS SETTLEMENT: £31,000.00

Background & Liability

The Claimant aged 25, was involved in a ...

The Importance of Discretion After Cable: Ahmed v Chojnowski [2022] EWHC 2863 (KB) - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

19/12/22. In Cable v London Victoria Insurance Co Ltd [2020] EWCA Civ 1015, the Court of Appeal emphasised at [73] that ‘[h]aving established that there was an abuse of process, th...

Defective Witness Statement for Non-English Language Speaking Claimant Was Ruled Inadmissible Leading to Dismissal of His Claim - Grace Corby, Temple Garden Chambers

15/12/22.  Correia v Williams [2022] EWHC 2824 - The judgment set out the approach to be adopted in relation to the admission of witness statements for witnesses who do not ...

Judicial College Guidelines 16th Edition: Damages for Asbestos-Related Disease - Jim Hester, Parklane Plowden Chambers

02/12/22. This is my last article on the new (16th Edition) of the Judicial College guidelines, following earlier articles on Work-related Limb Disorders and Noise Induced Hearin...

Vulnerable witnesses: AXX v Zajac [2022] EWHC 2463 (KB) - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

24/11/22. CPR Practice Direction 1A on the participation of vulnerable litigation in civil proceedings came into force in April 2021. The High Court (Master McCloud) considered t...

The Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 Is Without Overriding Effect - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

22/11/22. The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association – Forces Help v Allgemeines Krankenhaus Viersen GMBH [2022] UKSC 29

Introduction

The question in The Soldiers, Sailo...

Judicial College Guidelines 16th Edition: Damages for Noise Induced Hearing Loss - Jim Hester, Parklane Plowden Chambers

02/11/22. Following my earlier article concerning Work-related Limb Disorders, this article concentrates on changes relevant for assessing damages for Noise Induced Hearing Loss ...

The incomplete cross-examination: Riley v Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust [2022] EWHC 2417 (KB) - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

21/10/22. Riley v Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust [2022] EWHC 2417 (KB) serves as a timely reminder to practitioners to ensure that they put all points to a witness in cross-e...

A Stark Reminder to Insurers About the RTA Protocol: London Borough of Islington v Bourous [2022] EWCA Civ 1242 - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

19/10/22. The Court of Appeal has recently given an extensive account of the appropriate functioning of the Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents...

Case Summary: S v H - Steven Barke, Spencers Solicitors

07/10/22. Case Name: S v H

Accident Date: 30/01/2019

Settlement Date: 22/04/2022

TOTAL GROSS SETTLEMENT: £20,000.00

Background

The Claimant aged 65 at the time of the accident, sustai...

A school was not vicariously liable for abuse by a man on work experience placement against the Claimant student: MXX v A Secondary School [2022] EWHC 2207 (QB) - Grace Corby, Temple Garden Chambers

19/09/22. T he court rejected the Claimant’s arguments that the Defendant school was vicariously liable for torts committed against her by an 18-year-old who she met while he was...

How (Not) to Consider Permission to Appeal and Applications to Re-Open Appeals: UCP Plc v Nectrus Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 949 - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

22/08/22. In UCP plc v Nectrus Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 949, the Court of Appeal addressed 'the circumstances in which judges should accede to an application to recuse themselves, and t...

A Reminder of the 'Generous Ambit' Of Potential Responses to Applications for Extensions of Time for Service of A Claim Form: ST v Bai (SA) [2022] EWCA Civ 1037 - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

19/08/22. The Court of Appeal has in ST v BAI (SA) [2022] EWCA Civ 1037 considered the approach to be taken to applications under CPR 7.6(2) for an extension of time in which to se...

Damages Based Agreements Are Not Enforceable Against a Non-Counterclaiming Defendant: Candey Ltd v Tonstate Group Ltd & Ors [2022] Ewca Civ 936 - Grace Corby, Temple Garden Chambers

18/08/22. The appeal raised the novel question of whether it is lawful for a party against whom a claim is made (i.e. the defendant to a claim or counterclaim) to enter into an a...

The Executor of an Estate Can Apply for Provisional Damages: Power v Hastie & Co Ltd [2022] EWHC 1927 (QB) - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

17/08/22. Provisional damages can be awarded where a claimant’s prognosis is uncertain. By way of a provisional damages order (‘PDO’), a claimant is effectively given the right t...

Judicial College Guidelines 16th Edition: Work-related Limb Disorders - Jim Hester, Parklane Plowden Chambers

25/07/22. The recent publication of the 16th Edition of the Judicial College Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases , has brought a number of cha...