PI Brief Update

22 February 2007 Summary

NEWSLETTER

LAW JOURNAL

Personal Injury Articles

Recent developments in Respect of Limitation in Child Abuse Cases - Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel QC, 1 Crown Office Row & Henry Witcomb, 1 Crown Office Row
Sets out the new developments in respect of Stubbings v Webb and Bryn Alyn.

Low Velocity Impacts: Developments since Kearsley - Alejandra Hormaeche, Tanfield Chambers
The Court of Appeal’s attempt in Kearsley to provide guidance on the case management of low velocity impact (LVI) claims with a view to achieving a degree of uniformity of approach by the judiciary in handling such cases would appear to have been ineffective...

The meaning of knowledge: McCoubrey v MOD [2007] EWCA Civ 17 - Lionel Stride, 1 Temple Gardens
Jason McCoubrey joined the Army in 1991. In October 1993 he was involved in an accident during a training exercise. In the course of a simulated attack on his position, an officer threw a thunderflash into his trench...

Flora: Spreading Good News for Experts in the Discount Rate Debate - Mark James, 1 Temple Gardens
In personal injury (and fatal accident) litigation a long war has been waged as to what is the appropriate discount rate (i.e. how much credit a claimant must give for the likely return he will make on a capital lump sum representing future annual payments should he invest it) for calculating the multiplier for future heads of loss.

Credit hire and impecuniosity - Tim Kevan, 1 Temple Gardens & Adian Ellis, 1 Temple Gardens
Credit hire has for a long while been a tricky area. First, there were the champerty disputes which were finally settled by the House of Lords in Giles v Thompson [1994] 1 AC 142 deciding that credit hire agreements were not unenforceable for this reason. Then there was the consumer credit dispute...

Clinical Negligence Articles

Can Pay, Won’t Pay: Refusal of Indemnity by Medical Defence Organisations - Dr Peter Ellis, Lamb Chambers
In a large majority of clinical negligence claims, the individual healthcare professional involved is an employee, usually of an NHS Trust. Thus if they are sued for negligent errors or omissions occurring in the course of their employment, their employer, the NHS Trust, is vicariously liable, and the individual can rely on NHS Indemnity to meet the damages and legal costs.

Medico-Legal Articles, Edited by Dr Hugh Koch

Medico-Legal Expert Witnesses: Starting a Reform - Dr Michelle Tempest, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is proposing a radical overhaul of the current medico-legal expert system to improve the quality of the service and to ensure a sustainable supply of expert witnesses. The report Bearing Good Witness: Proposals for reforming the delivery of medical expert evidence in family law cases has been launched for a period of public consultation ending on 28th February 2007.

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

A serious suicide attempt by a prisoner requires an effective investigation compliant with article 2 ECHR standards - Bridget Dolan, 3 Serjeants’ Inn
R (JL) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWHC 2558 (Admin) 1 November 2006.

Charon QC