July 2024 Contents
 Welcome to the July 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 | |
 Claimant has 'only himself to blame' for dismissal of multi-million-pound claim on the basis of fundamental dishonesty - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers Shaw v Wilde [2024] EWHC 1660 (KB).Date of Judgment: 27/06/2024. On 30 June 2018, the Defendant drove into collision with the Claimant's motorcycle causing the 26-year-old Claimant to suffer serious orthopaedic injuries, including the permanent shortening of his right leg. Liability for the accident was determined in the Claimant's favour. However, HHJ Sephton KC, sitting as a Judge of the High Court, dismissed the claim on the basis of the Claimant's fundamental dishonesty and was not... |
 Defendant requests for medical testing demand a careful balancing exercise - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers Clarke v Poole [2024] EWHC 1509 (KB). This case provides an important re-examination of the law governing a thorny case management issue. Can and should a Claimant be compelled to undergo medical tests in order to pursue her claim? The Claimant suffered life changing injuries in a road traffic accident in 2018 at age 31, including weakness in her limbs, diminished mobility, and impairments with her memory, mental flexibility and processing speed. Separately, her mother had been diagnosed with... |
 Spanish Interest: Is an English court obliged to award 'penalty' interest? - Pierre Janusz & Anna Gatrell, 3 Hare Court The recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Nicholls & Ors v. Mapfre [2024] EWCA Civ 718 provided the Court of Appeal with an opportunity to give a definite ruling on whether, in a case where the law applicable to the claim is Spanish law, an English court is obliged to award 'penalty' interest pursuant to Article 20 of the Spanish Insurance Contract Act 50/1980 ('Article 20'). This article seeks to consider an issue which can arise in such cases, but in relation to which the Court of Appeal did not provide detailed guidance, namely what... |
 Damages awarded against Gary Glitter for historic sexual abuse: BRS v Paul Francis Gadd [2024] EWHC 1403 KB - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers This case deals with the valuation of damages under the latest Judicial Colleges Guidelines (JCGs) for complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) arising from historic sexual abuse. Notably the Defendant did not engage with proceedings, and this should be borne in mind in respect of the quantification of damages - they were unchallenged. This deeply distressing case involved the repeated sexual assault and rape of a minor aged 12 years old by a singer. The child had been introduced to the Defendant on several occasions, during which... |
 The failure to pay costs is not a contempt enforceable by committal to prison - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers Smith v Kirkegaard [2024] EWCA Civ 698. Date of Judgment: 21/06/2024. The history between the parties to this appeal dated back to January 2018 when Mr Smith published a tweet that referred to Mr Kirkegaard. Mr Kirkegaard brought a claim for libel against Mr Smith in respect of four publications, including the tweet, which described Mr Kirkegaard as a supporter of child rape or paedophilia. Ultimately, Mr Kirkegaard discontinued his claim in May 2020 meaning that Mr Smith was entitled to his... |
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| Clinical Negligence Medicine by Dr Mark Burgin | |
 Why is it so difficult for lawyers to admit they do not know everything? - Dr Mark Burgin Dr Mark Burgin discusses the phenomenon of arrogance in the legal profession and how experience from working with arrogant doctors can help the law. A common joke amongst lawyers about doctors is that 'GPs think they are God, but surgeons know they are'. To have the courage to open a human body with a knife knowing what may go wrong needs arrogance. Simply knowing more than others (self assurance) is not enough, a doctor must believe that they are better than other people. It has been said that 80%... |
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![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)
