October 2024 Contents
 Welcome to the October 2024 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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| Personal Injury Articles | |
 Difficult claimant evidence and partisan experts: Steven Wilson v Ministry of Justice [2024] EWHC 2389 (KB) - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers On 2 July 2018 Mr Wilson suffered life-threatening and life-changing injuries after being repeatedly and viciously stabbed by a fellow prisoner in the HMP Chelmsford prison kitchen. The assailant was himself serving a life sentence for murder and had killed his victim by stabbing. On 20 September 2024 and following a five-day quantum trial HHJ Melissa Clarke sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge awarded Mr Wilson damages in the sum of £5,400,000. Mr Wilson's injuries included a spinal cord injury with ongoing... |
 Special measures in the civil courts: IMX v Bicknell [2024] EWHC 2183 (KB) - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers Whilst it is not unusual for special measures to be imposed in criminal and family law trials involving vulnerable parties, they are a less common feature in the civil courts. IMX v Bicknell [2024] EWHC 2183 (KB), however, provides a rare example of their use in the personal injury context. The case is illustrative of the practical issues thrown up by special measures, particularly where one of the parties is unrepresented. The Claimant sought compensation for sexual abuse perpetrated against by her the Defendant, her then stepfather, when... |
 Williams-Henry v Associated British Ports & Anor (Re Wasted Costs Order) [2024] EWHC 2415 (KB) - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers What are the duties of claimants' lawyers once a defendant serves evidence of fundamental dishonesty? By continuing to act on a CFA to trial, do those lawyers expose themselves to a wasted costs order? These issues were considered by Ritchie J in Williams-Henry v Associated British Ports & Anor (Re Wasted Costs Order) [2024] EWHC 2415 (KB). The Claimant fell off Aberavon pier and sustained a moderately severe brain injury. She brought proceedings against... |
 Andrew Reynolds v Chief Constable of Kent Police [2024] EWHC 2487 (KB) - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers Mr Reynolds was found by HHJ Brown sitting with a jury at Canterbury County Court to have been falsely imprisoned by Kent Police for a little under six days and to have been assaulted by them. However, the judge also found Mr Reynolds to have been fundamentally dishonest and pursuant to section 57 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 ("the 2015 Act") dismissed his claim for damages... |
| Medico-Legal Articles, Edited by Dr Hugh Koch | |
 When CBT is not the answer: considering alternatives in psychological treatment following personal injuries - Dr Justin Savage, Clinical Psychologist Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a widely recognized psychological intervention used to treat a variety of mental health disorders and is often the most straightforward and appropriate intervention following a personal injury such as a road traffic accident. However, CBT may not always be the most appropriate intervention to deal with accident-related trauma in some cases... |
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| Clinical Negligence Medicine by Dr Mark Burgin | |
 Why relatives are being branded as troublesome - Dr Mark Burgin Dr Mark Burgin discusses how raising complaints can lead to the relatives being excluded from the ongoing care and how a clinical negligence lawyer can provide support. All health professionals make mistakes, official figures are 800k in the NHS per year (about 4 per doctor per year) however the true figure is much higher. Observation of doctors suggests that they make about one mistake a day. Although most are addressed at the time or cause no harm many are missed until the... |
 Can it be true that 25% of PI claims are fundamentally dishonest? - Dr Mark Burgin Dr Mark Burgin questions whether the explosion of Fundamental dishonesty can be justified by the recent changes in the PI industry. It has been reported that CJCA 2015 S57 Fundamental dishonesty is now raised in up to 25% of PI claims. Insurers have kept quiet about the number of successful uses of S57 but it is not likely that they would continue without some success. Solicitors who defend claims have fallen silent after an initial period of giving numbers such as 500 cases in 2019... |
![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)
