PI Brief Update

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...

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 ...

Editorial: Further Thoughts on Fundamental Dishonesty - Aidan Ellis, Temple Garden Chambers

19/05/17. In claims to which qualified one way costs shifting applies (now the vast majority of personal injury claims though some older cases still remain), it is often the issu...

Summary of Recent Cases, May 2017

15/05/17. 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...

The Optimistic Surgeon and the Unhappy Patient: Lessons from the Courtroom - Paul Sankey, Foot Anstey LLP

11/05/17. When an optimistic surgeon met an unhappy patient in court, it was the patient who had the judge's sympathy. The story has lessons for all surgeons. The courts now expe...

Mcgeer v Macintosh: Lethal Weapon 6? - Charles Feeney, Complete Counsel

Comment on the Consultation, Introducing Fixed Recoverable Costs in Lower Value Clinical Negligence Claims - Agata Usewicz, Hodge Jones & Allen

24/04/17. News that the Department of Health’s long-awaited consultation Introducing Fixed Recoverable Costs in Lower Value Clinical Negligence Claims will close on 2 May this year...

Summary of Recent Cases, April 2017

15/04/17. 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...

Bolam Under Attack: Muller v Kings College Hospital and Webster v Burton Hospitals - David Sanderson, 12 King's Bench Walk

13/04/17. Two judgments handed down this month explore the boundaries of the Bolam principle and limit its application. In the first, Kerr J doubted that Bolam was apposite where the...

Critical Time Ahead for PI Firms - Lesley Graves, Citadel Law

12/04/17. With reform firmly on the horizon, firms need to take a critical look at the profitability of their personal injury work and consider a radical shake up, advises Lesley...

How Will the New Motor Insurers Bureau Agreements Affect Motor Claims in the UK? - Michelle Reilly, Hill Dickinson LLP

07/05/17. The Motor Insurers Bureau has released a new Untraced Drivers Agreement 2017 and a Supplementary Agreement to the Uninsured Drivers Agreement 2015. Both apply to accide...

UK Personal Injury Reform and New Ogden Rates Go Into Law - Jacob Maslow, LegalScoops.com

06/04/17. Personal injury reform in the United Kingdom is changing at a rapid pace. A long way back, in 1995, there was no advertising or referral fees for legal services. No wi...

Consent to Medical Treatment: Must the Surgeon Advise Who Will Operate? Can the Patient Choose? - Paul Sankey, Foot Anstey LLP

04/04/17. Does a patient have a right to choose who will carry out their operation? Is her consent to treatment valid if there is a late change of surgeon? These are questions wh...

Editorial: Seeing Negatives in the Discount Rate - Aidan Ellis, Temple Garden Chambers

29/03/17. No personal injury lawyer will be unaware that on 27 February 2017, the Lord Chancellor lowered the discount rate from 2.5% to -0.75%. It was a dramatic change and imme...

FREE BOOK SAMPLE: The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 – What is a Package? – Telephone Bookings (From ‘A Practical Guide to Claims Arising From Accidents Abroad and Travel Claims’ by Andrew Mckie & Ian Skeate)

22/03/17. One of the key matters that will always need to be looked at in accident abroad claims, is whether the 1992 Regulations apply or not. This Chapter deals with bookings m...

Late-Acceptance of Part 36 Offers: Do Fixed Costs Apply? - Tom Collins, 1 Chancery Lane

03/03/1 7.  It’s a little over a year now since the Court of Appeal gave judgment in Broadhurst v Tan , a decision which dramatically raised the stakes in fixed cost EL/PL and ...

The Eagle Has Landed! Coffee, Croissants and Counter Schedules - Simon Readhead QC, 1 Chancery Lane

19/03/17.  How much do you spend on lunch? The answer for the average Briton is £53,844 during their working lives. Across a 40 year career another £40,128 goes on other wor...

Football and Historic Sexual Abuse: The Approach to Quantum - Francesca O'Niell, 1 Chancery Lane

18/03/17. The news has been bleak and unrelenting: the scandal of historic child sexual abuse continues to fill the headlines. It seems as if no sector of society has been unaffe...

Summary of Recent Cases, March 2017

15/03/17. 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...

Mckenzie Friends: Improving Access to Justice in Clinical Negligence 2017 - Dr Mark Burgin

07/03/17. Dr Mark Burgin BM BCh (oxon) MRCGP considers the expert’s duty to the court when instructed by a Litigant in Person (LIP) assisted by a McKenzie friend.

The Woolf reform...

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...

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...

Contributory Negligence Discount of 96.5% in First Sheriff Court Jury Trial - Catriona Hepburn & John Wilson, Brodies LLP

28/05/17. Scotland’s County Court, the Sheriff Court, has recently seen the reintroduction of jury trials in civil cases. The 2015 legislation creating the specialised All-Scotla...

'Pure Diagnosis' and 'Pure Treatment': A case considering whether the Bolam principle is applicable across the spectrum of Clinical Negligence cases - Penny Fitzpatrick & Marianne Walker, Slater and Gordon

22/05/17. In the recent case of Desmond Muller v Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust the key question to be answered was whether the test in Bolam should be applied to a case...

PI Practitioner, May 2017

16/05/17. 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...

FREE BOOK CHAPTER: Historical Background to the Present Legislation (From 'A Practical Guide to Claims Arising from Fatal Accidents' by James Patience)

1.1 INTRODUCTION

In this chapter the development of the current statutory framework for damages for wrongful death is examined. The current statutory framework is summarised.

1.2 ...

What Is 'Unreasonable Behaviour' for the Purposes of Small Claims Track Costs? - Thomas Crockett, 1 Chancery Lane

01/05/17. If the most recently mooted Government reforms as to the financial limit of the Small Claims Track of the County Court go through, litigants will increasingly find them...

Sanction for Counsel Allowed on Appeal - Cumming v SSE Plc - Catriona Hepburn, Brodies LLP

27/04/17. In the Sheriff Court (Scotland’s County Court) parties will not automatically recover the cost of counsel and must instead seek approval, or sanction, from the Sheriff....

Editorial: Parenting and Personal Injury - Aidan Ellis, Temple Garden Chambers

27/04/17. Confronted by bad weather and overly energetic children, I recently gave in and took my family to an indoor soft play centre. Once inside, it transpired that many paren...

Using Mathematics in Loss of a Chance Cases - Dr Mark Burgin

26/04/17. Dr. Mark Burgin BM BCh (oxon) MRCGP explains how mathematics can improve consistency and fairness in Loss of a Chance Cases.

Clinical negligence can cause pain and suffe...

Deregulation of Health and Safety Law for the Self-Employed - Matthew Hodson, Farrar's Building

25/04/17. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (‘HSWA’) has been amended by:

• The Deregulation Act 2015, which came into force on 26 ^th March 2015; and,

• The Health and Safety a...

Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010: Winners and Losers - Marlene Henderson, Browne Jacobson LLP

21/04/17. The Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010 (“2010 Act”) which came into force on 1 August 2016 is a clear victory for claimants wishing to pursue claims again...

PI Practitioner, April 2017

16/04/17. 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...

Criminal Injuries Compensation: Time for Change - Neil Sugarman, Neil Sugarman, President of APIL

10/04/17. The first ever scheme to compensate victims of violent crime in Great Britain was launched in 1964.

It was an ex gratia scheme provided by the government of the day and ...

Payment of the Incorrect Court Fee; Does It Give Rise to a Limitation Defence? (Answer: Almost Certainly Not) - Andrew Roy, 12 King's Bench Walk

05/04/17. Wells v Wood, Lincoln County Court, HHJ Godsmark QC 9 December 2016, 2016 WL 07330089

Introduction

1. In the professional negligence case of Lewis v Ward Hadaway [2015] EWHC 3...

Court of Appeal in Sharp v Leeds CC Decides Fixed Costs 'plainly apply to the costs of a PAD application' in Ex-Protocol Cases - Marcus Coates-Walker, St John's Chambers

03/04/17. In the case of Sharp v Leeds City Council [2017] EWCA Civ 33 the Court of Appeal (COA) determined a “ short but important point ” in relation to pre-action disclosure (PAD)...

An Update From North of the Border: Pursuers’ Offers Arrive in Scotland on 3 April 2017 - Douglas McGregor, Brodies LLP

30/03/17. Parties litigating regularly in England & Wales will be very familiar with the ability of both claimants and defendants to seek to protect their respective position...

Court of Appeal Holds That Defendants May Owe a Duty to Safeguard Their Employees’ Reputations When Conducting Litigation - Andrew Warnock QC, 1 Chancery Lane

23/03/17. In a remarkable decision with far reaching implications, the Court of Appeal held that the Metropolitan Police Commissioner had arguably owed and breached a duty of car...

PI Practitioner, March 2017

16/03/17. 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...

Late Acceptance of Part 36 Offers: Do Fixed Costs Apply? - Tom Collins, 1 Chancery Lane

15/03/17. It’s a little over a year now since the Court of Appeal gave judgment in Broadhurst v Tan , a decision which dramatically raised the stakes in fixed cost EL/PL and RTA ca...