February 2016 Contents
 Welcome to the February 2016 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 PI Brief Update Law Journal (PIBULJ) is accredited by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (ref EGB/LBPL) and the Bar Standards Board (provider ID: 2177). The CPD is also valid for CILEx (formerly ILEX) members and for members of the Chartered Insurance Institute. The quiz can provide 1.5 hours of CPD under the hours system. See our CPD Info page for further details including recent changes to the CPD system. Please check with the relevant organisations for full details of their CPD rules. Take the CPD Quiz Feedback Form CPD Information
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| Personal Injury Articles | |
 Editorial: Fixed Costs on the Multi-Track - Aidan Ellis, 1 Temple Gardens I am once again grateful to Lord Justice Jackson for providing the subject matter of this editorial, through his recommendation in the IPA Annual Lecture that the time has come to introduce fixed costs into the 'lower reaches' of the multi-track... |
 Sobrany v UAB Transtira: Subrogated Credit Hire Considered by the Court of Appeal - Gary Herring, Horwich Farrelly Described by the COA in its judgment as 'another chapter in the long running saga of disputes between insurers about liability to indemnify claimants in respect of the cost of hiring replacement vehicles', the case featured a claim... |
 Part 36 Offer: Derisory or Genuine? - Ian Miller, 1 Chancery Lane The case of Jockey Club Racecourse Ltd v Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd [2016] EWHC 167 deals with two interesting questions: (1) does a Part 36 offer have to reflect an available outcome in the litigation to be valid? (2) when is it a genuine attempt to settle liability? |
 Craig Rollinson v Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council [2015] EWHC 3330 (QB) - Daniel Tobin, 12 King's Bench Walk The recent High Court appellate decision in the case of Craig Rollinson v. Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council addresses the important question as 'whether highway authorities are under a duty to keep all roads, pavements and footpaths throughout England and Wales free from moss and algae'? |
 Kennedy v Cordia LLP, Supreme Court, 10 February 2016 - Euan Mackenzie, Ampersand Stable This case raises interesting points in relation to employer's liability and expert evidence in civil cases. The facts of the case are simple. The pursuer (claimant) was a home carer employed by the defenders (defendants) to visit clients in their home to provide personal care. In the winter of 2010 the pursuer suffered injury during the course of her employment when she... |
 Daniel v St George's Healthcare NHS Trust & London Ambulance Service: A Human Rights Cautionary Tale? - Francesca O'Neill, 1 Chancery Lane Edward Bishop QC has successfully defended an NHS trust and the London Ambulance Service against claims under the Human Rights Act 1998 brought by the foster family of a man who died of a heart attack in Wandsworth Prison. The judgment deals with the legal test for liability, causation and victim status... |
 Costs and the Application of Interest Thereon - Andrew Brough, John M Hayes The Judgment given by Mr Justice Leggatt in the case of Involnert Management Inc v Aprilgrange Ltd and Others [2015] EWHC 2834 (Comm), ruled that interest on costs, which under the Judgment Act 1838 (Section 17) was at a rate of 8%, should not be applied in this case from the date of Judgment, but would apply from a date of 3 months hence... |
 Maximising Fixed Costs: in the Protocol and Out of It - Jasmine Murphy, Hardwick With costs for low value PI claims being stripped to bare bones and further cuts on the horizon, maximising fixed costs is essential. In this article, Jasmine Murphy asks the question: Have we all been missing a trick? The trick in this case is another eighth of the costs allowed in fixed costs cases. |
 Damages in Fatal Claims: Mosson v Spousal (London) Ltd - Paul Stagg, 1 Chancery Lane Garnham J's decision in Mosson v Spousal (London) Ltd [2015] EWHC 53 (QB), handed down today, contains a number of points of interest in relation to the calculation of damages in fatal claims... |
 Failure to Mediate a Detailed Assessment Proves an Expensive Option - Kate Oliver, John M Hayes While traditional case law recognizes costs penalties imposed on successful parties who refuse to mediate, Reid v Buckinghamshire Health Care Trust [2015] EWHC B21 turns the tables and imposes additional costs penalties on the NHSLA losing party for failing to mediate on legal costs in this medical negligence case... |
 Reforms to Civil Litigation - Stephanie Prior, Osbornes Solicitors LLP It has been an interesting few years there has been so much to think about personal injury and clinical negligence litigation... |
 Another Bite at the Cherry? Relief From Sanctions & Changes of Circumstances - Thomas Crockett, 1 Chancery Lane The courts' approach to relief from sanctions is something on an ongoing saga of complexity and appeal, as the disparate permutations the new so-called 'Jackson Reforms' present themselves in apparently (at least to the Rules Committee) unforeseen ways... |
 Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries - Dr Linda Monaci A road traffic accident, or any event which involves trauma to the head, may result in a brain injury which can cause cognitive, emotional and physical symptoms. The severity of a brain injury is usually graded as mild, moderate or severe and this can help provide guidance on recovery and the rehabilitation required... |
 Fatal Accidents: 10 Key Points - Gordon Exall, Zenith Chambers & Hardwicke The interesting thing about lecturing is that you get questions and feedback. Following a talk at Hardwicke I thought it may be useful to set out some central issues in relation to fatal accidents. These issues arose both in the talk itself and in conversations afterwards. There are 10 key issues which benefit from reiteration... |
 BBC Expose of 'Crash for Cash' Ring - Thomas Crockett, 1 Chancery Lane For some light relief (this is being posted on a Friday afternoon after all!) any practitioner involved in PI cases where fraud is alleged could be advised as to look no further than the detailed article published on the BBC Wales' website about a successful prosecution of a so-called 'crash for cash' ring... |
 No Award for Damages for 'Loss of Life': Shaw v Kovac Considered - Gordon Exall, Zenith Chambers & Hardwicke In Shaw -v- Kovac [2015] EWHC 3335(QB) Judge Platts considered the question of whether there is a freestanding head of damages for "loss of life" together with some other aspects of the damages where the claim lies solely on behalf of the estate... |
 Summary of Recent Cases, February 2016 Here is a summary of the recent notable court cases over the past month. |
 PI Practitioner, February 2016 Each issue a particular topic is highlighted, citing some of the useful cases and other materials in that area. This month: Section 57 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 |
| An Update from North of the Border, Edited by David Stihler, Brodies LLP | |
 Update From North of the Border: The Role of Solicitor Advocates in Scotland - Laura Brain, Brodies LLP Earlier this month, another of my colleagues started out on his journey towards becoming a solicitor advocate. All going well, he will qualify later this year and join Brodies' in-house advocacy panel. But what does it actually mean to be a solicitor advocate in Scotland and why was the role created... |
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| Medico-Legal Articles, Edited by Dr Hugh Koch | |
 The Psychological Impact of Floods - Dr Vicky Lucas Five out of the six wettest years documented in UK history have occurred since the year 2000. In December 2015, parts of the UK experienced record-breaking levels of rainfall as a result of Storm Desmond. Climate change is set to... |
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