PI Brief Update

Review of the Latest Proposals for Fixed Costs in Clinical Negligence - Geoffrey Simpson-Scott, Simpson Millar LLP

17/08/17. At p117 of his Supplemental Report on Fixed Recoverable Costs (31st July 2017), Sir Rupert Jackson recommends that fixed recoverable costs cannot simply be imposed...

Editorial: Striking out, Costs and QOWCS - Aidan Ellis, Temple Garden Chambers

27/07/17. Unusually, by the end of this week I will have had the pleasure of appearing in four strike out applications in a row. Many strike out applications now arise from subst...

Case Note: Battram v Dr Geoghegan - Carol Maunder, Dutton Gregory LLP

24/07/17. Type of Injury: Damage to kidney function
Court title: Battram v Dr Geoghegan
Damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity: £25,000
Total damages agreed: £41,000
Sex: Ma...

Experimental Medicine and Pioneering Patients - David Locke, Hill Dickinson LLP

19/07/17. There are undoubtedly terminally ill patients who wish to pursue non-standard treatments in the hope of finding an unexpected cure, and there are even patients who wish...

FREE BOOK CHAPTER: The Importance Of Branding in Law (From 'A Practical Guide to Marketing for Lawyers' by Catherine Bailey & Jennet Ingram)

17/07/17. Used to give products and services a unique identity or personality, a brand enables organisations to differentiate themselves from the competition. An additional benef...

Summary of Recent Cases, July 2017

15/07/17. Here is a summary of the recent notable court cases over the past month. You can also receive these for free by registering for our PI Brief Update newsletter. Just sel...

QOCS in Scotland Proposals Move Forward - Mike Kemp, Thorntons Law

13/07/17. On 28 June 2017 I, along with other Thorntons Law colleagues, attended at the group APIL Scotland meeting to discuss the details of the Civil Litigation (Expenses and G...

Know the Rules! - Jonathan Wheeler, Bolt Burdon Kemp Solicitors

10/07/17. Jonathan Wheeler comments on the case of Thompson v Reeve and the importance of getting service right.

The headache for the claimant’s lawyers began with the Lord Chance...

The Scope of Fixed Costs - Andrew Roy, 12 King's Bench Walk

09/07/17. Prescott v Trustees of the Pencarrow 2012 Maintenance Fund, Plymouth CC, District Judge Richards, 12 June 2017.

Introduction

1. This decision provides important clarificatio...

Case Report: A v Balin Distribution Ltd - Helen Reynolds, Spencers Solicitors

08/07/17. Accident date: 13 August 2013. Settlement date: 04 April 2017. Gross settlement: £80,000.00.

The Claim

The Claimant was working as a HGV driver. He was making a delivery ...

Who Is to Blame When Private Surgery Goes Wrong? - Laura Williamson, Enable Law

06/07/17. We are all familiar with the NHS being sued when a doctor makes a mistake. The system is not perfect, but if a doctor has been negligent, the NHS, as an entity, is liab...

An Interesting Fixed Costs Case - Anna Macey, Kings Chambers

23/06/17. (Prescott -v- THE TRUSTEES OF THE PENCARROW 2012 MAINTENANCE FUND Defendant).

On the 27 October 2015, the claimant Logan Prescott, a minor, was a passenger in a car bein...

FREE BOOK CHAPTER: What Is Pain? (From 'A Practical Guide to Chronic Pain Claims' by Pankaj Madan)

22/06/17. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines pain as “ an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tiss...

RE v Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust [2017] EWHC 824 (QB) - Vanessa Cashman, 12 King's Bench Walk

20/06/17. In this case, the infant claimant had suffered a brain injury during her protracted birth in 2011. She was a very large baby and suffered (the claimants argued) a shoul...

Roberts v Johnstone: A New Accommodation - Nigel Spencer Ley, Farrar's Building

19/06/17. If the method for calculating damages for the additional capital cost of new accommodation set out in Roberts v. Johnstone [1989] 1 QB 878 is applied strictly using the...

What Duty Is Owed To Patients By Non-Medical Hospital Staff? - Kay Ditcham, Tilly Bailey & Irvine

17/06/17. There is no doubt that the NHS is under a great deal of pressure. Accident and Emergency Departments all over the country handle large volumes of injured patients every...

Summary of Recent Cases, June 2017

15/06/17. Here is a summary of the recent notable court cases over the past month. You can also receive these for free by registering for our PI Brief Update newsletter. Just sel...

When Diabetic Amputations Are Avoidable: Lessons From the Reported Cases - Paul Sankey, Enable Law

14/06/17. With diabetes increasing, more patients are likely to need amputations. Good preventative care is crucial. Unfortunately medical mistakes sometimes lead to amputations,...

Living Mesothelioma Claim: Damages Assessed in Life, and More to Follow After Death - Dominic Collingwood, DWF LLP

01/06/17. Andreou v S Booth Horrocks & Sons Limited, High Court (QBD), 13 January 2017. The recent decision of Judge Walden-Smith highlights the difficult task faci...

How To Deal With A Hardline Negotiator - Justin Patten, Human Law

29/05/17. According to media reports, The EU’s chief negotiator has admitted to a clash with Theresa May during last month's dinner in Downing Street and warned that the size of ...

Part 36 & Late Acceptance: When Is It Unjust to Apply the Usual Order? - Fran McDonald, Old Square Chambers

07/08/17. The case summary of Briggs v CEF Holdings Ltd (Court of Appeal, 13/7/17) was published on Lawtel this morning. Although it is important to bear in mind the lack of a full...

Night Workers and Negligence: Do Nightshifts Cause Disease and When Are Employers Liable? - Gus Baker, Outer Temple Chambers & David Green, 12 King's Bench Walk

26/07/17. There is a growing medical consensus that night-shift work is bad for your health. The disruption to circadian rhythms caused by working out of normal human waking hour...

FREE BOOK CHAPTER: The No Nonsense Gut (From 'The No Nonsense Solicitors' Practice: A Guide To Running Your Firm' by Bettina Brueggemann)

25/07/17. Although I have not planned the chapters in any kind of order of priority (since I believe they are all equally important) I do find myself placing listening to your gu...

Deputyship vs PI Trust: Round 2 ABC v Watt - Ruth Hughes, 5 Stone Buildings

18/07/17. Where P lacks capacity and has or is likely to have the benefit of a large personal injury award, the question will necessarily arise – how should P’s award be managed,...

PI Practitioner, July 2017

16/07/17. Each issue a particular topic is highlighted, citing some of the useful cases and other materials in that area. You can also receive these for free by registering for o...

Wheelchair v Buggy, Wheelchair Wins (Just) - Gillian Crew, Ely Place Chambers

14/07/17. Duty to Make Reasonable Adjustments on a Service Provider.

In the case of FirstGroup Plc v Paulley [2007] UKSC 4 , the Supreme Court held that bus companies must try harde...

Amputations and Advances in Prosthetic Limbs - Alix Walker, Burnetts Solicitors

12/07/17. Amputations are not something that people want to think about, but they are a part of everyday life, especially for those innocently involved in accidents at work or ro...

Hampshire County Council v Wyatt - Karen Moss, 3PB Barristers

11/07/17. It has long been the case that it is within the jurisdiction of employment tribunals, to award personal injury damages to employees where they can demonstrate that thei...

Case Report: Brown v Mosa - Mary Kay & Sarah Wright, Spencers Solicitors

07/07/17. Accident date: 29 August 2014. Settlement date: 20 December 2016. Gross settlement: £265,717.17.

The Claim

The Claimant, Mr Brown, a 39 year old HGV driver was driving hi...

Recoverability of Pre-Accident Records: A New Approach for Scotland? - Catriona Hepburn, Brodies LLP

06/07/17. The English Position

In England it is a well-established principle that, where a plaintiff is claiming for loss of future earnings based upon personal injury, disclosure...

Editorial: Civil Procedure Wish List - Aidan Ellis, Temple Garden Chambers

29/06/17. If you could change any of the Civil Procedure Rules, which ones would you amend (or remove altogether)? I’m sure many readers will have their own suggestions for relat...

Caution Required on Ringfencing Property From Care Fees - Justin Patten,

27/06/17. The issue of care fees was topical in the general election Irrespective of the future direction of the Conservative minority administration families across the country ...

Nervous Shock Following Birth - Anna Macey, Kings Chambers

22/06/17. (RE and others v Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust). This case arose out of a claim for clinical negligence following the birth of a baby, RE, who suffered an...

Fundamental Dishonesty: Blind Men and Elephants? - Patrick West, St John's Chambers

21/06/17. “ Me I'm dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly it's the honest ones you have to watch out for, you never can predict if they're g...

PI Practitioner, June 2017

16/06/17. Each issue a particular topic is highlighted, citing some of the useful cases and other materials in that area. You can also receive these for free by registering for o...

Wilkinson Lives on in Crawley! (A Highway Authorities Lack of Resources Is Still Irrelevant to a Section 58 Defence) - Ian Pennock, Park Lane Plowden Chambers

12/06/17. The recent case of Crawley-v-Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council [2017] EWCA Civ 36 confirms three main points established in the case of Wilkinson-v-City of York Counci...

Cyclist Death on Tram Tracks: An Accident Waiting to Happen? - Caroline Kelly, Thorntons Law

09/06/17. I was saddened to read the news of a 24 year old cyclist being killed in Edinburgh city centre after the wheels of her bike became stuck in the tram tracks, causing her t...

Material Contribution in Cases of Psychiatric Injury - Richard Johnson, Browne Jacobson

07/06/17. The difficulty of raising causation arguments when defending claims for psychiatric injury was exemplified by the case of, Diane Jennifer Kennedy v London Ambulance Ser...

Historic Abuse Claims: When Is Late Too Late? - Paul Donnelly & Samantha Chambers, DWF LLP

02/06/17. Six reported cases in three months give clear judicial guidance on when the court should/should not disapply the limitation period.

Paul Donnelly and Samantha Chambers a...

The Law of Unintended Consequences (or Determining Applicable Law in Cross-Border Cases) - Kelvin Farmaner, Trethowans LLP & FOIL

30/05/17. The recent decision in Marshall v MIB (1) Pickard (2) Generali (3) 2017 provides a useful example of how the rules governing which laws apply in cross border personal inj...