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July 2016 Contents

Welcome to the July 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.

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Personal Injury Articles
FREE BOOK CHAPTER: What is a Package? Telephone Bookings (Chapter Two from 'Holiday Sickness Claims: A Practical Guide' by Andrew Mckie)
One of the key matters that will always need to be looked at in a travel sickness claim, is whether the 1992 Regulations apply or not. This Chapter deals with bookings made by telephone and in a face face-to-face meeting at the office of the tour operator / travel agents. Internet bookings will be dealt with in a separate Chapter...
Editorial: Brexit and Personal Injury Litigation - Aidan Ellis, Temple Garden Chambers
Unlike most daily newspapers, some professional publications like the British Medical Journal or even various employers, PIBULJ avoided expressing a view on the referendum on EU membership. But now that the results are in, our thoughts inevitably turn to the likely impact of leaving the EU on our area of work...
Dishonest Claimants: Utilising the Tort of Deceit - Judy Dawson, Park Square Barristers
In criminal law it is generally clear; if you cheat or lie or steal or defraud then you get punished. If you try but fail then you still get punished; English criminal law on attempts is clear and there is not much discount on sentence for having been incompetent...
MC & JC Birmingham Women's NHS Foundation Trust [2016] EWHC 1334 (QB) - Natasha Jones, Bevan Brittan
This was a birth injury case which involved a claim bought by mother and son relating to an alleged delay in the management of JC's delivery on 13 February 2010. JC suffered brain damage as a result of an acute profound asphyxia and MC (mother) suffered a massive post partum haemorrhage resulting in an emergency hysterectomy. Quantum was agreed subject to liability in relation to MC's claim and the trial proceeded in respect of liability only...
Dunhill v W Brook & Co and Crossley: Professional Negligence Claim Against Counsel and Solicitors - David Green, Pupil, 12 King's Bench Walk
Ms Dunhill received a head injury in a road traffic accident in June 1999. She was represented by the First Defendant solicitors throughout: Mr Brooks was the file handler, and Mr Marsh was a trainee...
When an Unsafe Structure Does Not Trigger the Landlord's Duty to Repair - Colm Nugent, Hardwick
The reach of the Defective Premises Act and what 'defective' means within the context of the Act, was the subject of detailed consideration in the QBD recently, in Dodd v Raebarn Estates [2016]...
The EU Divided, but Not as We Know It - Jack Harding, 1 Chancery Lane
The events of past weeks have brought into sharp focus the seemingly different attitudes held by a majority of the UK population compared to other EU member states. The result, whilst at present uncertain, may well be a full uncoupling of the UK legal system from European law...
Claimant Firms Must Prepare for the Long Haul - Matthew Gwynne, SpectraLegal
The obstructive tactics employed by many defendants will be well known to claimant clinical negligence lawyers. They can range from the sublime to the ridiculous: Ignoring protocol timelines is common; failure to settle strong cases early (forcing claimants to needlessly proceed to a full letter of claim); and, admitting liability on the eve of a trial before then querying all the avoidable costs involved...
How to Document a Biopsychosocial Assessment in Personal Injury 2016 - Dr Mark Burgin
Dr. Mark Burgin BM BCh (oxon) MRCGP explains how generalist experts document psychological injuries...
'In Time' Application for Time Extension Refused & No Relief From Sanctions: Six-Figure Claim Lost (Krasniqi v Watford Timber Co. Ltd) - Charles Bagot, Hardwicke
This is an example of a case in which the Court refused to grant an "in time" application for an extension of time, made before the expiry of the deadline in an unless order, despite there being no trial date listed and this being a liability admitted multi-track claim for a six-figure sum. The effect of the refusal was that the claim...
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co (Europe) Ltd v Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime [2016] UKSC 18 - Caroline Kane, BLM
A recent ruling by the Supreme Court has finally settled the argument as to whether claims for consequential damages are permissible for losses incurred as the result of a riot. The case relates to a major incident that occurred on 8 August 2011, during the height of the rioting and violence that had erupted throughout the UK...
Wrongful Birth and Wrongful Conception: The Rights of the Father - Rebecca Jones, Hardwicke
The law on recovery for damages in wrongful birth and wrongful conception cases has been settled for some time; since the cases of McFarlane v Tayside Board of Health [2000] 2 AC 59, Parkinson v St James and Seacroft University Hospital NHS Trust [2001] EWCA Civ 530 and Rees v Darlington Memorial Hospital NHS Trust [2002] EWCA Civ 88 there has been little, if any, disruption to the status quo. It is clear however...
Reforming the Courts' Approach to Mckenzie Friends - Kurt Rowe, Head of the CPR & Protocols Sector Focus Team at FOIL
The recent conclusion of the Judicial Executive Board's consultation on Reforming the Courts' Approach to McKenzie Friends has put the spotlight firmly on the role of these individuals in court proceedings as well as the need for reform...
Material Contribution and Williams - Rebecca Richardson, Hardwicke
On 25 January 2016 the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council handed down judgment in the case of Williams v The Bermuda Hospitals Board [2016] UKPC 4, the most recent reported decision regarding material contribution in clinical negligence cases. While not binding in domestic courts the case is highly persuasive authority...
Summary of Recent Cases, July 2016
Here is a summary of the recent notable court cases over the past month.
PI Practitioner, July 2016
Each issue a particular topic is highlighted, citing some of the useful cases and other materials in that area.  This month: Vicarious Responsibility
An Update from North of the Border, Edited by John Wilson & Lauren Pasi, Brodies LLP
Director's Personal Liability for Employers' Liability Insurance: Scotland and England Aligned - Robert Cranston & Fiona Beal, Brodies LLP
Readers may remember our report on a previous Scottish court decision that resulted in Scotland diverging from England on whether a director can be personally liable for his company's failure to provide employers' liability insurance. The case has gone all the way to the Supreme Court. It has decided, by a 3:2 majority, that the position in Scotland is the same as it is in England. A director will generally...
Medico-Legal Articles, Edited by Dr Hugh Koch
Legal Mind Case and Commentary No.7: Regulating Expert Evidence - Dr Hugh Koch & Dr Richard Cosway
Case: Kennedy v. Cordia LLP [Scotland]. This case centres on a Supreme Court judgement in relation to an accident involving a home carer in Glasgow who visited an elderly lady who was terminally ill. The carer, in the process of carrying out her duties for her employer Cordia, slipped on...
Legal Mind Case and Commentary No.6: Stress at Work, a Fit Area for Legal Enquiry? - Dr Hugh Koch & Dr Simon Midgley
Ten years ago, the Court of Appeal collated four cases to be heard together with the intention of providing guidance on handling stress at work cases claims. Known as Hatton v Sutherland, the Court of Appeal recognised difficulty in judging such cases, especially with complex issues of causation. Principles exposed as a result included...
Book Reviews
New Book Reviews - PIBULJ.COM Editorial
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) have produced a number of new books for the personal injury practitioner in the past few months, published by Jordan Publishing...

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