News Category 2
PI Practitioner, July 2015
16/07/15. 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 our PI Brief Update newsletter. Just select "Free Newsletter" from the menu at the top of this page and fill in your email address.
In June the Divisional Court handed down judgment in a judicial review claim brought by a solicitors' firm and a credit hire companies against a defendant County Court: MRH Solicitors & others v Manchester County Court [2015] EWHC 1795 (Admin).
The Divisional Court was asked to review a judgment given by a Recorder at the defendant County Court in a trial arising from a road traffic incident. The defence to that action had alleged that the claim was fraudulent. In the Recorder's judgment he had found the claimant solicitors to have been "elbows deep in fraud" and considered there...
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Not All Fun at the Farm - Kelly Langworthy & Rebecca Bowley, Ringrose Law
13/07/15. The farming industry represents approximately 1.8% of the workforce in Great Britain and being a famer or a farm hand is renowned for being a hazardous occupation. Farm Safety Week recently took place between 6th and 10th July 2015. This is an initiative led by the Farm Safety Foundation annually and is supported by a number of organisations. The focus is on providing practical advice and guidance on a number of topics to farmers and their workers.
Despite a big focus on safety in the industry, farming and agriculture remains one of the most risky industries in the UK with the highest risk of fatal injuries.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have recently released provisional statistics for fatal accidents in the workplace for 2014/15. The figures show that 33 workers (14 of whom were employees and 19 were self-employed) were killed on farms, between 1st April 2014 and 31st March 2015, in addition to 4 members of the public.
Overall, the rate of fatal injuries in agriculture was calculated as 9.12 per 100,000 workers, compared to 1.62 per 100,000 workers in construction and 0.55 in manufacturing. The rate of fatal injuries in agriculture remains higher than any other industry. Over the past 5 years, the average number of people killed in agriculture per year is...
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Introducing PIcARBS, The Personal Injury Claims Arbitration Service - Andrew Richie QC, 9 Gough Square
11/07/15. The following is taken from a booklet published by PIcARBS. Many shipping, building and commercial disputes are resolved by arbitration. So why is arbitration not used to resolve personal injury and clinical negligence claims? Arbitration should be used. It is quicker, much more cooperative and flexible and less expensive than the civil justice system.
There are powerful reasons in existence now for turning away from use of the civil justice system as the only means to resolve personal injury and clinical negligence claims.
Firstly, because the Ministry of Justice has cut back court funding in the last 3 years by over 20%. [http://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/aug/10/ministry-justice-jobs-cut-third]
Secondly, because standard court fees have been increased substantially in personal injury and clinical negligence cases. [Cmnd 8845]
Thirdly, because the “enhanced” court fees imposed in March 2015 put in effect a wholly new taxation on personal injury and clinical negligence claims expressly designed so that these will cross subsidise family and other claims in the civil courts...
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A Broadening of Perspective or a Narrowing of the Rules? Conduct and Relief From Sanctions Following Cockell v Holton (No. 2) EWHC 1117 (TCC) - Christopher McClure, John M Hayes
05/07/15. It would be easy to succumb to the temptation for sensationalism and pen an article which gives the impression that a simple typing error is somehow synonymous with a possible loss of £1.6 million.
Whilst enthralling, that would be to miss the point. When Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart refused the Defendant’s application for relief from sanction following the automatic striking out of its £1.6 million counterclaim, he did so because the error in question was a “culmination” of a course of conduct that amounted to a continuing breach of a court order made some three months’ previous.
Turning to the facts, the December order required the Defendant to file and serve an amended defence and counterclaim by 20 March 2015 (probably by 4:00pm), failing which the counterclaim would stand automatically struck out. At 3:46pm on 20 March, the Defendant attempted to file and serve said statements of case. Unfortunately, the court’s email address was incorrectly typed and the message returned undeliverable – something which, for reasons known only to the solicitor in question, did not come to light until the following week whereupon papers were filed with the court albeit out of time. Consequently, the statement of case was struck out and it behoved the Defendant to make an application for relief...
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Three Months of MedCo: A Medical Reporting Organisation’s view - Ian Robinson, MDE Medico-Legal
04/07/15. The latest phase of the Government’s whiplash reforms is now three months old. From April 6, 2015, all low value RTA claims must go through the MedCo Portal, which randomises how solicitors allocate their work.
In contrast to the previous system of solicitors having the freedom to instruct whomever they want, solicitors must allocate a case to one of seven randomly selected medical experts. Alternatively, a solicitor can choose a Medical Reporting Organisation (MRO) from a randomly generated list. The list consists of one high-volume Tier One provider and six smaller Tier Two agencies. Such as the company I work for, MDE Medico-Legal.
In October 2014 the fee for a standard medical report was fixed at £180. This was followed in April 2015 by legislation to ensure there could be no financial link between the solicitors who commission reports and those who produce them. This round of changes also implemented the concept of randomisation.
If a solicitor selected the MRO option, it was intended they would instruct the agency who provides the best service out of the available seven. No other considerations would or could come into play. Additionally, work would have to be spread around. No agency could take the bulk of one solicitors’ work. Solicitors would have to...
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More Articles...
- Complying with the COSHH Regulations - Martin Stear, Chartered Occupational Hygienist
- Trial and Error: James v Ireland [2015] EWHC 1259 (QB) - Sarah Hunt, John M Hayes
- Informed Consent in Clinical Negligence Claims: The New Law Explained and the Consequences Considered - John-Paul Swoboda, 12 King's Bench Walk
- "Subtle" Brain Injury Claims - Pankaj Madan, Exchange Chambers & 12 King's Bench Walk
![Appeal judge rules that credit hire company has no costs liability following a finding of fundamental dishonesty in personal injury case: RSA v. Fastrack Solutions Limited [2023] 4 WLUK 92 - David Bowden, Erimus Chambers](/content/images/resized/images/stories/carkeys_72_72.jpg)
