September 2014 Contents
 Welcome to the September 2014 issue of PI Brief Update Law Journal. Click the relevant links below to read the articles and take the CPD quiz. Please remember to fill in our quick feedback form after you have finished. CPD Quiz The quiz is designed to meet the CPD requirements of the SRA and the BSB. It provides 1.5 hours accredited distance learning. Law Brief Publishing Ltd is registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority for England and Wales, ref EGB/LBPL, and with the Bar Standards Board. The CPD is also valid for cILEX (formerly ILEX) members and for members of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). Please check with the relevant organisation for full details of their CPD rules. Take the CPD Quiz Feedback Form CPD Information
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| Personal Injury Articles | |
 Back to Basics: Should Credit Hire be Stripped? - Gary Herring - Horwich Farrelly Solicitors In Dimond v Lovell the House of Lords made it all seem so simple. In a case where the claimant sought hire charges in the princely sum of £346.63, it was held that a claimant who uses a credit hire service, even where doing so is perfectly reasonable, nonetheless cannot recover the... |
 From Eeles to Haynes: Interim Payments, Periodical Payments, and Accommodation Needs - Angus McCullough QC & Jessica Elliott, 1 Crown Office Row A seriously injured claimant urgently requires alternative accommodation with adaptations for her disability, and space for necessary equipment, carers, and therapies. Liability has been admitted or compromised by the defendant, but any assessment of damages hearing will be many... |
 Editorial: Fundamental Dishonesty and Discontinuance - Aidan Ellis, Temple Garden Chambers It is well known that Qualified One Way Costs Shifting protects unsuccessful Claimants against the enforcement of costs orders against them, unless certain exceptions apply. One such exception arises where the claim is fundamentally dishonest. Often this can be determined at... |
 Damages for Pain and Suffering Prior to Death and Reduction of Life Expectancy: Important Court of Appeal Decision - Gordon Exall, Zenith Chambers The case of Kadir -v- Mistry [2014] EWCA Civ 1177 deals with two important questions in relation to pain and suffering prior to death. Firstly should there be an award for pain and suffering in circumstances where the deceased person would have had the same symptoms but... |
 You May Delay, but Time Will Not. Benjamin Franklin - Sophie Beesley, Old Square Chambers Colefax v First Tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber) & Anr v Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority [2014] EWCA Civ 945. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority deals with claims from those injured as a result of a violent crime. Mr Colefax's case concerned the interpretation of paragraph... |
 Denton and the Misunderstanding of Mitchell - Jim Hester, Parklane Plowden Chambers Hot on the heals of the seminal Mitchell judgment in November, and the resulting impact on the civil justice system, the Court of Appeal has found it necessary to refine the way that Judges should approach applications under CPR 3.9 - Relief from Sanctions... |
 "Professional" McKenzie Friends: LSB Reaction to Consumer Panel's Recommendations - Thomas Crockett, 1 Chancery Lane Those of us who are professional advocates reacted largely with horror when the Legal Service Consumer Panel called in April of this year for a "culture shift" in favour of recognising the rise in and increasing use of paid McKenzie Friends in our courts by extending regulation to... |
 The Law Relating to Fatal Accidents: An Introduction - Gordon Exall, Zenith Chambers This article provides a brief overview of the law in relation to fatal accidents. When a person is killed a claim can be brought on behalf of his estate or on behalf of their dependants. The person or persons who bring the action are called the "claimant" or "claimants" (if more than one person brings the action)... |
 A Judgment for What? The Effect of Default Judgments - Paul Stagg, 1 Chancery Lane Where a defendant admits breach of duty but wishes to contest causation, injury and quantum, it has in the past been common practice for it to allow judgment to be entered in default of Acknowledgment of Service or of Defence and to proceed to contest the remaining issues at... |
 Why Insurers Are Keen on Early Settlement Meetings! - Bill Braithwaite QC, Head of Exchange Chambers I'm often unsure about whether we personal injury lawyers in catastrophic claims should strive for an early finalisation of the claim, or should we just let the litigation take its course, and have a settlement meeting when all the evidence has been prepared, and the case is approaching Court... |
 Fatal Accident Dependency Claims: A Working Example: Death of a Wife & Mother as a Result of Mesothelioma - Gordon Exall, Zenith Chambers Reports of decisions on dependency calculations are always welcome. Fatal accident damages account for 4% of payments made in personal injury claims. The number of reported cases on damages is relatively small. Cases are often better investigated and less likely to go to trial because... |
 It's Not All Pounds and Pence - Richard Fraser, Frenkel Topping The continued care and welfare benefits needs of those with personal injury or clinical negligence awards can be confusing and stressful matters. Yet as Richard Fraser, Managing Director of Frenkel Topping, explains, concerns aren't always focused on the pounds and pence but often the options for wellbeing and care - the ability for an individual, their carers or deputy to choose the best possible care solutions, for life. |
 The Ever-Ageing 13-Year-Old Compensation Discount Rate - Thomas Crockett, 1 Chancery Lane There has been a further delay to the much-anticipated and important decision on the discount rate to be applied to compensation. And this comes almost two years after conclusion of the consultation on the question of whether the current rate of 2.5% should be modified. |
 A Head for Heights - Simon Readhead QC, 1 Chancery Lane "I was out in the garden with my stepladder today. Not my real ladder. I don't get on with my real ladder". I was reminded of this old one liner when reading the latest instalment of the government's Red Tape Challenge. This is the revised guidance issued by... |
 Expert Support - Ian Gascoigne, Eversheds LLP In October 2014 new guidance published by the Civil Justice Council (CJC) will replace the protocol for instructing expert witnesses in civil cases. The protocol is part of the practice direction to CPR 35, but this will be removed, leaving the guidance as a free-standing document. The guidance is... |
 The Right to Choose - Bill Braithwaite QC, Head of Exchange Chambers I've recently spent a few very pleasant hours sitting in a client's wonderfully adapted house, looking out over his fields, and wondering about how his future will work out. He and his wife made a conscious choice to buy a house that suited them following catastrophic injury, rather than... |
 Coroners, Consistency and Change - Simon Readhead QC, 1 Chancery Lane Harold Macmillan is famously said to have observed that: "There are three bodies no sensible man directly challenges: the Roman Catholic Church, the Brigade of Guards and the National Union of Mineworkers". To this list should perhaps be added the Royal British Legion... |
 Summary of Recent Cases, September 2014 Here is a summary of the recent notable court cases over the past month. |
 PI Practitioner, September 2014 Each issue a particular topic is highlighted, citing some of the useful cases and other materials in that area. This month: The "Coincidence of Location" Fallacy |
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| Medico-Legal Articles, Edited by Dr Hugh Koch | |
 The Effectiveness of Brief-CBT for Post Traumatic Stress Following Road Traffic Accidents - Dr Claire Wilson Road traffic accidents have been reported as the ninth greatest contributor to the global burden of disease by the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2004). On current trends, their figures have suggested that road traffic injury may well become the third greatest contributor to the global burden of disease by 2020. |
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![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)
