News Category 3
Fatal Accidents Act 1976 Does Not Apply in Foreign Law Cases - Sarah Crowther, 3 Hare Court
19/05/14. Cox v Ergo Versicherung [2014] 2 WLR 948; [2014] UKSC 22. In a judgment handed down on 2 April 2014, the Supreme Court has considered the application of the principles of the Private International Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995 to wrongful death claims where the substantive law is that of a country other than England.
Applying the principles established in Harding v Wealands [2007] 2 AC 1, namely that the foreign applicable law governs only the substantive issues in tort and that assessment of damage is a procedural question the Supreme Court unanimously held that a claimant before the English court cannot rely on the Fatal Accidents Act 1976, but must invoke the substantive remedy provided by the applicable foreign law.
The Facts
Mrs Cox is the widow of Major Cox, a British army officer killed whilst riding his bicycle on 21 May 2004 in Germany. The driver of the car which hit him was a German national resident and domiciled in Germany and he was insured by a German domiciled insurer (the Defendant to the claim) pursuant to an insurance contract governed by German law.
Mrs Cox returned to England following the death of her husband. She has a new partner with whom she has two children.
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Costs Budgeting’s ‘First Birthday’: 2014 Update - Tom Gibson, Outer Temple Chambers
15/05/14. As costs budgeting passed its ‘first birthday’ in April 2014, this article summarises the recent CPR updates and case law in the area. It also contains some practical tips for this relatively new area of law.
Form of costs budgets (update your precedents!): Paragraph 2.2A of PD 22, which contains the wording for a costs budget’s statement of truth, has been changed. The old wording (which spoke of costs a “client will incur”) was criticised as being inappropriate for clients who funded their cases by CFAs or damages based agreements.
The new wording for the costs budget statement of truth is:
“This budget is a fair and accurate statement of incurred and estimated costs which it would be [reasonable and] proportionate for my client to incur in this litigation.”
No more [Statement of Truth] strike outs: As reported earlier...
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Vicarious Liability for Associate or Locum Clinicians: Whetstone v Medical Protection Society Ltd - Paul Stagg, 1 Chancery Lane
11/05/14. The question of whether practice partners or principals are vicariously liable for negligent treatment provided by associates or locums is one which has frequently exercised the medical defence organisations in recent years. The issue ought to be academic, because such associates or locums are usually required, under the arrangements made with a practice, to have cover with one of the recognised organisations. However, it is not unknown for associates or locums to fail to comply with such an obligation, or at least to notify their practices of where they have obtained their cover so that the benefit of it cannot be obtained when the associate or locum has left the jurisdiction and cannot be traced.
The absence of any case law dealing with the issue has made it difficult for practitioners to predict with confidence the court's reaction to any attempt to impose vicarious liability for the actions of associates or locums. The judgment of HHJ Richard Seymour QC in Whetstone v Medical Protection Society Ltd [2014] EWHC 1024 (QB) contains the first...
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Accidents at Work: The TUC and the Myth of The Compensation Culture - Gordon Exall, Zenith Chambers
05/05/14. The TUC’s ever helpful guide to health and safety is out for April and available online. The Bulletin covers numerous aspects of health and safety in the workplace. However one notable article relates to the “compensation myth”.
This shows that 6 out of 7 people injured in the workplace do not obtain compensation.
“TUC explodes the ‘compensation myth’
Workplace compensation cases have fallen by more than 50 per cent in the last decade, reveals a new joint report from...
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Hillsborough 25 Years On - Scott Whyte, Watermans Solicitors
23/04/14. The 25th Anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster was marked on 15 April 2014 with a minute’s silence in Liverpool and the late kick-off of all matches in England the preceding weekend. It was, and remains, the largest modern day tragedy at a football match - or any other sporting event for that matter - in modern times.
Liverpool is not alone in mourning the loss of supporters who did not return from an ill-fated fixture. Bradford City’s tragic fire in May 1985 claimed the lives of 56 people and in Scotland, 66 Rangers fans perished following the Ibrox disaster in 1971.
Hillsborough is however set apart from these other tragedies for a number of reasons. Firstly, with the advance in technology and television news coverage, the public were able to see at first-hand much more of the devastation that occurred that day. Secondly, we also know that Hillsborough became the catalyst for all-seater football stadia to become the norm in British football.
However, of greater significance is the battle that the families of the 96 fans who lost their lives and the countless others who were injured have faced in seeking access to truth and justice about why the events of that day unfolded in the way that they did. This is a campaign for justice that has united football fans across Liverpool and beyond and has touched every part of society as a 25 year web of deceit, cover ups and negligence has painstakingly been unpicked. For the first time, many of those campaigning for justice are now close to the prospect of receiving ‘proper’ answers to their questions...
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More Articles...
- The Difference Between What Someone Needs and What They Will Accept - Bill Braithwaite QC, Head of Exchange Chambers
- Sporting Bodies Should Fear the Consequences of Brain Related Injuries - John van der Luit-Drummond
- Costs Budgets and Unallocated Part 8 Claims Issued Before 22 April 2014 - Thomas Crockett, 1 Chancery Lane
- “Micro Sleep” Defence in Fatal Crash Trial - Hayley Betteridge, Associate Partner, Plexus Law
![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)
