PI Brief Update

When is adjournment appropriate in a high value personal injury claim? - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

19/01/23. Benford v East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust [2022] EWHC 3263 (KB) considered whether a trial should be adjourned on the assertion that the assessment of future los...

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...

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 ...

Giving Notice of Conditional Fee Agreements with a Success Fee - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers

25/05/22. In EXN v East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust , the court considered the proper approach to the failure of a party to comply with the rules relating to notice that a claim...

The discretion of the court and relief from sanctions: Chan Mok Park v Hassan Hadi & Anor [2022] EWCA Civ 581 - Rochelle Powell, Temple Garden Chambers

20/05/22. In a joint decision, Holroyde, Stuart-Smith and Warby LJJ held that Freedman J had not erred in granting relief from sanctions after the Respondent made an informal ora...

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...

Browne Jacobson successful in fundamental dishonesty appeal ruling on behalf of the Medical Protection Society - Louise Jackson, Browne Jacobson

28/09/22. In Simpson v Payne, the Defendant/Respondent (Defendant) was successful before Her Honour Mrs Justice Collins Rice in having the Claimant/Appellant’s (Claimant) appeal ...

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...

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...

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...

Karanja, R (On the Application Of) v University of the West of Scotland [2022] EWHC 1520 (Admin) - Rochelle Powell, Temple Garden Chambers

15/07/22. This case dealt with a number of procedural issues including jurisdiction and an extension of time for service of the claim form pursuant to CPR 3.1(2)(a). Michael Ford...

Contracting Out of the Fixed Costs Regime - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers

13/07/22. In Doyle v M & D Foundations Building Services Ltd [2022] EWCA CIV 927, [1] the Respondent was injured whilst working on a construction site in the course of his empl...

Knowledge of the specific injury or disease? - Jim Hester, Parklane Plowden Chambers

20/06/22. Does the specific injury or disease which a claimant sustained need to be reasonably foreseeable for liability to be established? Or is reasonable foreseeability of a r...

Uncertainty In The Law: When Actionable Damage Arises In Mesothelioma Cases - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers

13/06/22. In Brooks v Zurich Insurance , the Claimant had worked as a maintenance engineer at a paper mill in Enfield. His work brought him into contact with asbestos and, aro...