July 2017 Contents
Welcome to the July 2017 issue of PI Brief Update Law Journal. Click the relevant links below to read the articles.
CPD Note that there are no new monthly CPD quizzes since the SRA and the BSB have both updated their CPD schemes to eliminate this requirement. Reading PIBULJ articles can still help to meet your CPD needs. For further details see our CPD Information page.
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FREE BOOK CHAPTER: What is Cosmetic Surgery? (From 'A Practical Guide to Cosmetic Surgery Claims' by Dr Victoria Handley)
Cosmetic surgery is where a person chooses to have an operation or invasive medical procedure, to change their physical appearance for cosmetic rather than medical reasons. We refer to cosmetic surgery as any intervention, procedure or treatment carried out with the primary objective of changing an aspect of a patient's physical appearance... |
Night Workers and Negligence: Do Nightshifts Cause Disease and When Are Employers Liable? - Gus Baker, Outer Temple Chambers & David Green, 12 King's Bench Walk
There is a growing medical consensus that night-shift work is bad for your health. The disruption to circadian rhythms caused by working out of normal human waking hours is linked in the scientific literature with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes... |
The Scope of Fixed Costs - Andrew Roy, 12 King's Bench Walk
Prescott v Trustees of the Pencarrow 2012 Maintenance Fund, Plymouth CC, District Judge Richards, 12 June 2017. This decision provides important clarification as to the scope of the fixed costs regime (FCR) at CPR Part 45... |
Covert Surveillance and Social Media: From Big Brother to Love Island - Robert Hunter, Devereux Chambers
Rather like reality television, covert surveillance feels as though it has been around for a long time. Although several of the leading cases were decided in the early noughties, some old issues have received recent airtime. This paper will review the current legal landscape and tactical issues before asking: how much has changed? |
Editorial: Striking out, Costs and QOWCS - Aidan Ellis, Temple Garden Chambers
Unusually, by the end of this week I will have had the pleasure of appearing in four strike out applications in a row. Many strike out applications now arise from substantially similar facts; the Claimant failed to comply with directions and, after allowing a more or less decent opportunity to apply for relief, the Defendant applied for strike out pursuant to CPR 3.4(2)(c)... |
Wheelchair v Buggy, Wheelchair Wins (Just) - Gillian Crew, Ely Place Chambers
Duty to Make Reasonable Adjustments on a Service Provider. In the case of FirstGroup Plc v Paulley [2007] UKSC 4, the Supreme Court held that bus companies must try harder to give priority spaces to wheelchair-using passengers... |
FREE BOOK CHAPTER: The Importance Of Branding in Law (From 'A Practical Guide to Marketing for Lawyers' by Catherine Bailey & Jennet Ingram)
Used to give products and services a unique identity or personality, a brand enables organisations to differentiate themselves from the competition. An additional benefit is that the consumers may become brand loyal and thus repeat purchasers... |
Experimental Medicine and Pioneering Patients - David Locke, Hill Dickinson LLP
There are undoubtedly terminally ill patients who wish to pursue non-standard treatments in the hope of finding an unexpected cure, and there are even patients who wish to altruistically volunteer to trial experimental medicines unrelated to their own condition, in order to derive meaning and purpose from a hopeless situation... |
Deputyship vs PI Trust: Round 2 ABC v Watt - Ruth Hughes, 5 Stone Buildings
Where P lacks capacity and has or is likely to have the benefit of a large personal injury award, the question will necessarily arise - how should P's award be managed, through a deputyship award or through a personal injury trust. Unlike where the claimant in the personal injury case has capacity, there is no need to interpose a personal injury trust to maximise state benefits, as considered recently by Norris J in H v Craven [2016] EWHC 3146 (QB)... |
Hampshire County Council v Wyatt - Karen Moss, 3PB Barristers
It has long been the case that it is within the jurisdiction of employment tribunals, to award personal injury damages to employees where they can demonstrate that their employer's unlawful discrimination caused psychiatric or physical injury... |
FREE BOOK CHAPTER: The No Nonsense Gut (From 'The No Nonsense Solicitors' Practice: A Guide To Running Your Firm' by Bettina Brueggemann)
Some call it emotional intelligence, gut instinct, subconscious or sixth sense. Scientists believe we have two brains - the head brain or conscious brain and the stomach (gut) brain. Research seems to suggest both operate completely separately and independently of each other and that the stomach brain is more powerful or effective. I cannot speak for science but what I did learn over the years was that the times I went wrong was when I failed to listen to my stomach... |
Know the Rules! - Jonathan Wheeler, Bolt Burdon Kemp Solicitors
Jonathan Wheeler comments on the case of Thompson v Reeve and the importance of getting service right... |
QOCS in Scotland Proposals Move Forward - Mike Kemp, Thorntons Law
On 28 June 2017 I, along with other Thorntons Law colleagues, attended at the group APIL Scotland meeting to discuss the details of the Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Bill. The purpose of the meeting was to allow the APIL Scotland representatives to gauge the membership's views on the Bill before they appear before the relevant Scottish Parliament committee... |
Amputations and Advances in Prosthetic Limbs - Alix Walker, Burnetts Solicitors
Amputations are not something that people want to think about, but they are a part of everyday life, especially for those innocently involved in accidents at work or road traffic accidents. However, with modern advances in surgery, rehabilitation and importantly prosthetic design the loss of a limb does not have to be a detrimental life sentence... |
Who Is to Blame When Private Surgery Goes Wrong? - Laura Williamson, Enable Law
We are all familiar with the NHS being sued when a doctor makes a mistake. The system is not perfect, but if a doctor has been negligent, the NHS, as an entity, is liable. The victim and their family know who they can claim against. Changes can be made to working practices if necessary, and lessons learnt... |
Case Report: A v Balin Distribution Ltd - Helen Reynolds, Spencers Solicitors
Accident date: 13 August 2013. Settlement date: 04 April 2017. Gross settlement: £80,000.00... |
Case Report: Brown v Mosa - Mary Kay & Sarah Wright, Spencers Solicitors
Accident date: 29 August 2014. Settlement date: 20 December 2016. Gross settlement: £265,717.17... |
Case Note: Battram v Dr Geoghegan - Carol Maunder, Dutton Gregory LLP
On 18.9.12 the Claimant received a telephone call from his GP, the Defendant, to advise him that: 1. When the Claimant had undergone a blood test in January 2011, his kidney function was at 80%. The Defendant did not advise him of this fact as the Defendant considered it an acceptable result... |
Summary of Recent Cases, July 2017
Here is a summary of the recent notable court cases over the past month... |
PI Practitioner, July 2017
Each issue a particular topic is highlighted, citing some of the useful cases and other materials in that area. This month: QOCS and MIB claims... |
| An Update from North of the Border, Edited by Kate Donachie, Brodies LLP | |
Recoverability of Pre-Accident Records: A New Approach for Scotland? - Catriona Hepburn, Brodies LLP
In England it is a well-established principle that, where a plaintiff is claiming for loss of future earnings based upon personal injury, disclosure of full medical records will be allowed. In Dunn v British Coal Corporation [1993] ICR 591 concerned a neck injury at work and on that basis disclosure of medical records was initially restricted... | |
| Clinical Negligence Medicine by Dr Mark Burgin | |
The Unnatural Death: A User's Guide to Coroners in the UK 2017 - Dr Mark Burgin
Dr Mark Burgin BM BCh (oxon) MRCGP considers how a low-cost generalist screening report can assist the coronial process... |
The Five Minute Letter of Claim 2017 - Dr Mark Burgin
Dr Mark Burgin BM BCh (oxon) MRCGP explains how McKenzie Friends can use the generalist clinical negligence report to create a medically sound letter of claim LOC... |
Quantum Made Simple 2017 - Dr Mark Burgin
Dr Mark Burgin BM BCh (oxon) MRCGP explains how McKenzie friends can assist Litigants in Person calculate the amount of damages claimed (quantum)... | |
![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)
