PI Brief Update

30 October 2010 Summary

NEWSLETTER

LAW JOURNAL

Personal Injury Articles

Update on Choice of Laws - Katherine Deal, 3 Hare Court
We are fast approaching 2 years from the date on which it came into force, and there remain more questions than answers where Regulation EC No. 864/2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations, ‘Rome II’, is concerned. The question of the temporal scope of Rome II is making its slow way to Luxembourg after Slade J referred two questions to the European Court in the summer in the case of Homawoo v GMF Assurance [2010] EWHC 1941 (QB), and written submissions are due to be lodged next month.

Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992: Some Guidance - Sarah Fraser Butlin, Cloisters
The Court of Appeal in Threlfall v Hull City Council [2010] EWCA Civ 1147 has provided some useful guidance to the interpretation of Regulations 4 and 6 of PUWER. This takes a firmly commonsense approach, with a useful reminder of a pleading point.

Endocrine Disruption - Dr Andrew Auty, Re: Liability (Oxford) Ltd
Headlines such as deodorant causes breast cancer, teething rings damage the nerves of babies and plastics cause male infertility are now frequent. What they have in common is their focus on the effects of hormones on health and how hormones can be affected by exposure to chemicals in food or cosmetics. The science is highly uncertain. Regulatory responses risk being overzealous and the effects on liability exposure are uncertain.

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

Travel Agents and Package Holidays: Some Clarification - Clara Johnson, 3 Hare Court
It is rare to find a travel agent being sued. This perhaps reflects a misconception as to whether travel agents are the correct party to sue in regulation 15 claims where there is a separate tour operator. If there is a misconception, it is probably this: the travel agent is merely acting as the agent of the tour operator and consequently, the package holiday contract is between the consumer and the tour operator as principal...

Medico-Legal Articles, Edited by Dr Hugh Koch

How to stop your legal mind wandering - Dr Hugh Koch
Recent research had found that those who regularly practice meditation have improved perception and find it easier and keep their attention fixed on what they are doing.

Coronial Law Articles, Edited by Bridget Dolan, 3 Serjeants’ Inn

Naming and shaming: Unsuccessful Rule 42 challenge to verdict of neglect against a care provider - Susanna Rickard, 3 Serjeants’ Inn
My Care (UK) Ltd v HM Coroner for Coventry [2009] EWHC 3630 (Admin)

Mediation & ADR Articles, Edited by Tim Wallis, Trust Mediation Ltd

Mediation, stress, and (more stress) costs: a couple of mediation experiences from the perspective of a Claimant’s solicitor - Jane Radcliffe, Pattinson & Brewer
During the course of his employment (which was most of his adult life) Mr X had suffered numerous physical injuries, including a serious head injury, and he had also encountered, without problem, many difficult and traumatic situations such as dealing with the aftermath of a multiple fatality...

Book Reviews

Personal Injury Schedules 3rd Edition by William Latimer-Sayer, Mr Justice Langstaff, Andrew Buchan, Rodney Nelson-Jones, William Audland and Julian Chamberlayne
Reviewed by Aidan Ellis, Temple Garden Chambers

Charon QC

Charon QC, October 2010
Torture and war - shall we sweep it under the carpet?