News Category 2
Redaction of Expert Reports - Jack Harding, 1 Chancery Lane
10/05/14. What is the position where a litigant instructs an expert to comment upon matters within their expertise and the expert, whilst producing an acceptable overall report, trespasses into areas which are the realm of the trial judge? Should the opposing party be allowed to strike-through and redact the offending passages so as to ensure that the judicial mind remains free and unpolluted by irrelevant material? Is this really a proportionate response to the problem, particularly in an era in which the Courts have been at pains to emphasise the importance of avoiding unnecesary and costly satellite litigation?
This was one of many issues which arose in the recent decision of...
Image ©iStockphoto.com/prizela_ning
Is It Time to Call in the WIP Doctor? - Edel Rome, Citadel Law
05/05/14. Edel Rome, solicitor at Citadel Law, shows how diagnostic review can improve financial viability for clinical negligence lawyers. Our diagnostic reviews of law firms’ clinical negligence caseloads often highlight low levels of expertise and poor risk management. These have a substantial impact on key areas such as client care and billing. They also represent a major negligence risk, with the knock-on effect on professional indemnity insurance and ultimately cash flow and financial viability.
Many new entrants into the clinical negligence market quickly appreciate that there is a lack of immediate profit and a pressing need for substantial capital investment. Clinical negligence diagnostic reviews help our clients to understand what lies beneath and whether the work is set to turn a profit or become a headache. Defendant lawyers are not slow in giving claimant clinical negligence lawyers a kicking if claimants’ bills of costs indicate inefficiency or poor advice in successful cases...
Image ©iStockphoto.com/pawel.gaul
Damages for Loss of Fatal Accident Act Damages When Life Expectancy Is Reduced: Haxton -v- Phillips Considered - Gordon Exall, Zenith Chambers
24/04/14. HAXTON V PHILIPS ELECTRONICS UK LIMITED [2014] EWCA Civ 4. What can a claimant do if your claim under the Fatal Accidents Act is reduced because, as a result of the defendant’s negligence, their own life expectancy is lowered and the claim under the Fatal Accidents Act is therefore reduced? The answer lies in Haxton –v- Philps Electronics [2014] EWCA Civ 4 bring an action for personal injury to make up the difference
THE FACTS
Both Mr and Mrs Haxton developed mesothelioma after been exposed to asbestos. Mr Haxton was exposed through his employment with the Defendant; his wife was exposed whilst washing his work clothes.
THE CLAIM BROUGHT BY MRS HAXTON
Mr Haxton died in 2009 after developing mesothelioma symptoms in 2008. Mrs Haxton’s first claim was brought a fatal accident claim under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous provisions) Act 1934 and under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976. The second claim was a claim for negligence in relation to the injuries and reduced life expectancy she now suffered.
THE ISSUE FOR THE COURT
Mrs Haxton’s case was that but for the defendant’s negligence, her life would not have been cut short and the assessment of her dependency claim in the first action would have been significantly greater. The Defendant should therefore compensate her for that loss. The issue for the court was whether this was...
Image ©iStockphoto.com/hroe
Fall in the Number of Small Claims: A Trend Set to Continue? - Thomas Crockett, 1 Chancery Lane
19/04/14. It was widely reported last week that the number of small claims hearings has dropped by over 50 per cent in the last five years. Figures have been reported showing there were 29,577 hearings in 2013 compared to 53,248 in 2007.
A well-known consortium of about 100 solicitors’ firms has suggested that the reason for the drop in claims is due to the process becoming more expensive and much lengthier.
The average wait from submitting a claim form and final hearing took about thirty one weeks. This is not far off the target timescale for a...
Image ©iStockphoto.com/alexskopje
Editorial: How to Identify the Basic Hire Rate - Aidan Ellis, Temple Garden Chambers
17/04/14. In Stevens v Equity Syndicate Management Ltd [2014] EWHC 689 (QB), Burnett J reviewed the authorities and discussed the right approach to identifying the Basic Hire Rate in a credit hire case. His analysis will assist County Courts in the many credit hire cases where the court is asked to select a single Basic Hire Rate from evidence from both parties which identifies a range of different rates. Importantly, he rejected the claimant’s submission that in such cases the court should always select the highest basic hire rate.
Having held that the Claimant was not impecunious, the Court needed to determine the Basic Hire Rate. Evidence of Basic Hire Rates was only provided by the Claimant in the form of the familiar report produced on behalf of Accident Exchange. At first instance, the Court allowed the average of four rates from well known national hire companies in the Claimant’s locality. The Claimant appealed.
The appeal against the finding that the Claimant was not impecunious was given short shrift. The evidence of the Claimant’s finances was...
Image ©iStockphoto.com/energyy
More Articles...
- PI Practitioner, April 2014
- Rule 3.10: Looking Beyond 3.9 for Relief - Ian Miller, 1 Chancery Lane
- More Reasons to Look at the Law: Practical Problems With Vicarious Liability - Gordon Exall, Zenith Chambers
- UKABIF: Doing Good Things for the Brain Injury World - Bill Braithwaite QC, Head of Exchange Chambers
![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)
