PI Brief Update

22 January 2009 Summary

NEWSLETTER

LAW JOURNAL

Personal Injury Articles

Potential Claimants and Defendants Under the Workplace Regulations - Aidan Ellis, 1 Temple Gardens
For most health and safety regulations it is obvious to whom the legislation applies: it protects employees against breaches by employers. The application of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 is less clear-cut. In the absence of binding authorities in the English courts in some key areas, there remains scope for creative arguments both as to who is protected by the Regulations and who is subject to obligations under the Regulations.

Crofton: all as it seems? - Sarah Fraser Butlin, Cloisters
On 13 November 2008 the High Court approved a final settlement in the Crofton v NHSLA litigation. The settlement was on a 67.5% liability basis with the Defendant paying the Claimant total damages of around £2.9million...

Employment duties and care claims. - Lisa Sullivan, Cloisters
There have been an increasing number of areas where employer’s responsibilities have knock-on effects on what is claimed in a large care claim. A good care expert should point some of them out but it may pay to be up-to-date on changes in employers duties.

Beating a Part 36 Offer: Not as Easy as You May Think! - Rankeshwar Batta, Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP
Last year the judgement in Carver –v- DAA [2008] EWCA Civ 412 came as a stark reminder to Claimant lawyers that beating a Part 36 offer from a Defendant is no guarantee to costs security.

Instructing an Expert new to Expert Witness work. - Jenny Cotton, Mortons Marketing
The Courts and those legal practitioners involved are fully experienced in the Expert Witness role. However it is often the case that the individual identified as a relevant expert is not familiar with the role or Court requirements at all. Many contacts are in effect a novice expert.

PI Travel Law, Edited by Katherine Deal, 3 Hare Court

An Accident Waiting To Happen? Barclay v British Airways Plc - Katherine Deal, 3 Hare Court
The Montreal Convention, which has the force of law in England and Wales by virtue of Schedule 1B to the Carriage by Air Act 1961 as amended, governs to a large extent any claim a passenger might seek to bring for death or personal injuries sustained during the course of air travel. Where it applies, it provides an exclusive regime. A claimant cannot, for example, hope to have any success alleging a common law duty of care or breach of contract in addition to any claim that arises under the Convention.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back on the slope... - Simon Davenport, 3 Hare Court
To what extent is a Claimant who is injured during a winter sporting activity responsible for his or her own safety?

Medico-Legal Articles, Edited by Dr Hugh Koch

Physical and Mental Relaxation: An Active Step to Reducing Travel Anxiety - Hugh Koch and Kathryn Newns
It is well recognised in the medico-legal literature that the shock of a traumatic road traffic accident can result in a number of destructive and distressing Psychological experiences.

Marketing for Solicitors

Marketing Your Practice: Awareness & Profile, It is Everyone’s Job and How to Check it is Working Well - Jenny Cotton, Mortons Marketing
How we present ourselves is often just as important as what we say and what we do. What we are understood to have said or done rather than what we have actually said and done is often what matters most. From the sole practitioner and the newest recruit to the largest LLP everyone has their role to play in the awareness and profile of their practice. Some may call this spin, others are clear that having an agreed plan for the level of awareness and the quality of profile is what is most helpful. Communicating agreed messages effectively with agreed contacts is what delivers consistent results.

Book Reviews

Active Steps to Reducing Stress - James Koch & Hugh Koch (Bracken Books)
Reviewed by Tim Kevan

Charon QC

Charon QC, January 2009
The State of the Nation