September 2014 Contents
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Personal Injury Articles | |
![]() 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... |
![]() 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... |
![]() 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... |
![]() 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... |
![]() 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... |
![]() 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... |
![]() 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... |
![]() 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)... |
![]() 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... |
![]() 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... |
![]() 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... |
![]() 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. |
![]() 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. |
![]() "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... |
![]() 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... |
![]() 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... |
![]() 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... |
![]() Here is a summary of the recent notable court cases over the past month. |
![]() 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 | |
![]() 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. |