PI Brief Update

22 November 2006 Summary

NEWSLETTER

LAW JOURNAL

Personal Injury Articles

Bringing claims in time: St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council v Barnes [2006] EWCA Civ 1372 - Lisa Sullivan, Cloisters
Discussion of Court of Appeal authority on the date on which a claim is brought for the purposes of the Limitation Act 1980.

Making sense of the Workplace Regulation 12 (3) - Adam Dawson, 9 Gough Square
In the recent Court of Appeal decision of Rita Burgess v Plymouth City Council [2005] EWCA Civ 1659 Lord Justice May, Lady Justice Smith and Sir Anthony Clarke examined the application of Regulation 12 (3) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992)...

When is a claim “brought” for the purposes of the Limitation Act 1980? - Daniel Tobin, 12 King’s Bench Walk
When is a claim “brought” for the purposes of the Limitation Act 1980? - Daniel Tobin, 12 King’s Bench Walk

Claimants working on the ‘black’ economy and fraudulently obtaining benefits: the defence of illegality - Alejandra Hormaeche, Tanfield Chambers
Those advising claimants in cases where there is a potential claim in damages for loss of earnings but, prior to the accident date, the claimant had been securing undisclosed earnings whilst fraudulently obtaining benefits, need to consider quite carefully whether it is worth bringing a claim for loss of earnings at all.

Recent example of Blamire and Smith v. Manchester awards in the Court of Appeal - Sacha Ackland, 1 Temple Gardens
Ronan v. Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd & Anor [2006] EWCA Civ 1074 (unreported) is a recent decision by the Court of Appeal (Lord Justice Hooper and Lord Justice Hughes) on 6 July 2006 which does not raise any great principle of law but is worth considering as a useful example as to how Blamire awards and Smith v. Manchester awards should and should not be applied in practice.

Just get to the court on time! Barnes v St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council [2006] EWCA Civ 1372 - Lionel Stride, 1 Temple Gardens
Most claimant practitioners have, at one time or another, courted danger by filing the claim form at or near to the expiry of the limitation period. It may be that they were only instructed to do so by their client at the eleventh hour or that the date of the initial accident had been wrongly entered on their own file...

Skiing Accidents - Katherine Deal, 3 Hare Court
So we come round to that time of year again when many people discover to their cost that, whatever one’s level of competence, launching oneself off the edge of a mountain on two bits of wood is not always as good an idea as it sounds. Usually, a skier will have only himself to blame, but in some circumstances it may be possible, and worthwhile, to bring a claim.

Clinical Negligence Articles

GMC v Meadow: No Expert Witness Immunity from Fitness to Practice Proceedings - Dr Peter Ellis, Lamb Chambers
In General Medical Council v Meadow , the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of Collins J, by a majority, that Professor Sir Roy Meadow, a paediatrician, had not been guilty of serious professional misconduct when giving expert evidence in the criminal trial of Sally Clark.

Medico-Legal Articles, Edited by Dr Hugh Koch

How can we identify or predict which trauma victims will develop psychological problems? - Hugh Koch, Hugh Koch Associates
A recent paper by Mason Etal (2006) followed up a series of 210 adults who attended a hospital casualty department with physical trauma. They were followed up at 1 month and 6 months and 18 months and assessed for psychological difficulties.

A comment on the (over)diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - Robert J. Edelmann, University of Roehampton
With regard to personal injury claims, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one of the most frequently diagnosed mental health problems. This brief comment argues that all too often far too little care is taken in medico-legal assessments, with PTSD regularly being misdiagnosed with the diagnosis even being used when the nature of the index accident does not warrant it.