PI Brief Update

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...

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...

Witness Statements and the complexities of language: A legal minefield? Bahia v Sidhu & Anor [2022] EWHC 875 (Ch) - Rochelle Powell, Temple Garden Chambers

26/04/22. Mr Bahia was born in India, but had lived in the UK for over 50 years. As at the date of the trial, he was 72 years old. Mr Bahia provided two witness statements, in th...

Double Recovery: Costs In Part IIIA of CPR45 Where There Are Two Or More Claimants - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers

21/04/22. In Melloy v UK Insurance Ltd (Portsmouth County Court, Case Number 011LR422, 25 February 2022) an issue arose at the conclusion of the trial as to whether two claimants i...

Contributory Negligence In Gul v McDunagh - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers

24/03/22. In Gul v McDunagh ,[1] the appellant, then aged 13, had been struck by a car being driven by the First Defendant. He sustained very serious injuries. The question of cont...

Guidance on fee earners in abuse cases: TRX v Southampton Football Club Ltd [2022] EWHC B7 (Costs) - Rochelle Powell, Temple Garden Chambers

22/03/22. The substantive claim was brought by a victim of convicted football coach Bob Higgins, who perpetrated a campaign of abuse against boys at the Southampton academy in th...

Price v United Engineering - Jim Hester, Parklane Plowden Chambers

04/03/22. I have been asked by a number of people if I can cover some of the cases which are frequently seen in Industrial Disease cases. This Article is the first such ‘essentia...

'Failure to Remove' Claims: Some Further Developments - Paul Stagg, 1 Chancery Lane

02/03/22. These two significant judgments are both of considerable assistance to those defending ‘failure to remove’ claims against local authorities.

Negligence Claims: the Tinda...

Justified medical reports: A matter for costs not exclusion. Marva Greyson v Ryan Fuller [2022] EWHC 211 (QB) - Rochelle Powell, Temple Garden Chambers

21/02/22. This High Court appeal decision confirmed that the “draconian reading” of 8BPD6 in Mason v Laing was incorrect and unwarranted. The sanction for simultaneous rather than ...

The Common Law Doctrine of Mistake & Part 36 Offers: O’Grady v B15 Group Ltd [2022] EWHC 67 (QB) - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers

17/02/22. In O’Grady v B15 Group Ltd , [1] by way of background, the Claimant's husband had been killed following a collision with a lorry, driven by an employee of the Defendant. Pr...

Can secondary victims claim for psychiatric injury in clinical negligence claims? A review of the decision in Paul v The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust [2022] EWCA Civ 12 - Rochelle Powell, Temple Garden Chambers

26/01/22. The cases of Paul v The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (“ Paul ”); Polmear v The Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust (“ Polmear ”); and, Purchase v Ahmed (“ Purchase ”) were heard as conjoi...

The Interpretation of 'Road Or Other Public Place' In The Road Traffic Act 1988 - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers

24/01/22. In Brown v Fisk [2021] EWHC (QB) 2769, Master Dagnall gave judgment on an application for reverse summary judgment brought by the Second Defendant. The Claimant had broug...

Apportionment of Liability In Road Traffic Accidents Involving Multiple Collisions - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers

21/01/22. In Martini v Royal Sun Alliance Insurance Plc [2022] EWHC 33 (QB), the High Court was required to consider claims in negligence arising from a series of motor vehicle col...

Whether An Intoxicated Passenger Can Rely On Their Own Intoxication To Avoid Or Reduce A Finding of Contributory Negligence - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers

23/12/21. In Campbell v Advantage Insurance Company Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 1698, the Court of Appeal considered whether a claimant could rely on his own intoxication, and consequenti...

Toombes v Mitchell [2021] EWHC 3234 (QB) - Rochelle Powell, Temple Garden Chambers

21/12/21. This landmark ruling has been a source of great concern for medical practitioners because it means they can now be found liable for negligent pre-conception advice res...

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...

Pleading and proving mitigation of loss: Mathieu v Hinds & Anor [2022] EWHC 924 (QB) - Rochelle Powell, Temple Garden Chambers

25/04/22. The judgment of Mrs Justice Hill in this case deals with a number of interesting issues. This article focuses on pleading and proving mitigation of loss.

The claimant, M...

Fundamental Dishonesty: The Importance of Adequate Warning To A Claimant - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers

20/04/22. In Jenkinson v Robertson ,[1] the Claimant appealed against a finding of fundamentally dishonest that had resulted in his claim being dismissed in its entirety pursuant t...

Failure To Attend A Hearing & CPR 39.3(5) - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers

25/03/22. In Miah v Ullah ,[1] the High Court considered whether to grant the Defendant relief under CPR 39.5 for failing to attend a disposal hearing. The Claimant had applied for...

Impecuniosity documents: when should they be disclosed? Allianz Insurance PLC -v- Jonathan Holt (3rd December 2021) - Rochelle Powell, Temple Garden Chambers

23/03/22. The applicant in the case, Allianz Insurance plc, was the prospective defendant in a claim for losses which included the cost of a hire car. The application sought pre...

When is a Party not a Party? - Soyab Patel, KLS Law Solicitors

18/03/22. A novel and interesting point in relation to Part 20 claims. I acted on behalf of the 2 ^nd Defendant in this matter.

In Bailey (C) -v- Barclays Bank UK PLC (D1) and London...

Case Report: H v P - Mary Kay, Spencers Solicitors

22/02/22. Case Name: H v P
Accident Date: 31/10/2019
Settlement Date: 16/07/2021
Total Gross Settlement: £500,000.00
Background: RTA

On 31 October 2019 the Claimant (aged 50) had bee...

A reminder of the consequences when a witness statement does not comply with the rules: Prime London Holdings 11 Ltd v Thurloe Lodge Ltd [2022] EWHC 79 (Ch) - Rochelle Powell, Temple Garden Chambers

18/02/22. In this case, Mr Nicholas Thompsell (sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court) considered the appropriate response where several excerpts of a witness statement did ...

Fundamental Dishonesty: Cojanu v Essex Partnership University NHS Trust - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers

16/02/22. Practitioners may find the appeal judgment of Cojanu v Essex Partnership University NHS Trust [1] of interest for its consideration of fundamental dishonesty . In Cojanu , a c...

Part 36 offers subject to the common law doctrine of mistake: O'Grady -v- B15 Group Limited [2022] EWHC 67 (QB) - Rochelle Powell, Temple Garden Chambers

27/01/22. The Claimant brought a claim for damages under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 in respect of her husband who was killed in a road traffic accident. On 20 April 2020 the De...

FREE CHAPTER from 'A Practical Guide to Periodical Payment Orders in Personal Injury Cases in Scotland' by Kirsty O'Donnell...

10/01/22. ‘A Practical Guide to Periodical Payment Orders in Personal Injury Cases in Scotland’ is geared towards practitioners in Scotland who deal with personal injury cases in...

Calderbank Offers, CPR 44.2 & Deferring Rulings On Costs - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers

24/12/21. In McKeown v Langer [2021] EWCA Civ 1792, the Court of Appeal considered the following issues (at [1]): “where there are split issues (such as liability preceding quantum...

Resiling from an admission: A recap in Shah v London Borough of Barnet [2021] EWHC 2631 (QB) - Rochelle Powell, Temple Garden Chambers

22/12/21/ In refusing the Defendant’s application for permission to resile from an admission, Master Stevens sets out a helpful and detailed overview of the relevant Civil Proce...

Exceptional Circumstances and recovering costs above fixed recoverable costs - Sean Linley, Carter Burnett

30/11/21. Fixed recoverable costs were first introduced in 2010. It was said to be a procedure that would make costs in lower value claims simpler and easier to deal with. Back t...

QOCS and Set Off: Supreme Court ruling in Ho –v- Adelekun [2021] UKSC 43 - Rochelle Powell, Temple Garden Chambers

26/11/21. This appeal considered whether Qualified One Way Costs Shifting (‘QOCS’) could in any way constrain a defendant’s liberty to seek, or the court’s discretionary power to...

Elgamal v Westminster City Council [2021] EWHC 2510 (QB): When Exaggeration Does Not Amount To Fundamental Dishonesty - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers

24/11/21. In Elgamal v Westminster City Council , the Defendant appealed a judgment following trial to pay the Claimant £125,321.33 in damages for personal injury. The central issu...

Findings of Fact in Mesothelioma Case - Jim Hester, Parklane Plowden Chambers

25/10/21. This is another case where the court (and parties) have had to consider findings of fact in relation to historic events, in this case with respect to a fatal mesothelio...