‘Victims of a rogue breast cancer surgeon have called for a change in the law after it was reported that he may be linked to up to 650 deaths.’
Daily Telegraph, 16th April 2023
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Fresh concerns have been raised about the amount of asbestos remaining in dilapidated schools and hospitals, after new analysis found that almost 150 health and education workers were recorded as dying from cancer related to the material in recent years. According to official data, there have been 147 deaths among health and education workers since 2017. Experts believe the figure is likely to be a significant underestimate because of the way someone’s profession is recorded on death certificates.’
The Guardian, 16th April 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Briggs v Drylined Homes Ltd [2023] EWHC 382 (KB) (judgment here) concerned a claim by the widow of Mr Brian Briggs, who died in 2017 after contracting mesothelioma. The Claimant brought a claim against one of her husband’s former employers, Drylined Homes Ltd (“DHL”). DHL had engaged Mr Briggs between approximately 1975 and 1979 to carry out “drylining”, namely putting up plasterboards during house construction.’
Ropewalk Chambers, 1st March 2023
Source: ropewalk.co.uk
‘The London Borough of Richmond has been allowed to defend a £6m mesothelioma claim, after the High Court set aside a default judgment made in 2021.’
Local Government Lawyer, 31st March 2023
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A teacher who lied about having cancer and falsely claimed that surgeons had removed her eye has been banned from the classroom indefinitely.’
The Independent, 23rd March 2023
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The family of a teacher who died of cancer due to asbestos exposure at her school has won a settlement, prompting warnings that staff and pupils remain at risk in older buildings.’
The Guardian, 3rd March 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Warwick University has agreed to pay a student who is seriously ill with cancer £12,000 in damages for the “distress and inconvenience” caused by not allowing her to extend her course as a result of her health condition.’
The Guardian, 23rd February 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The case of R (on the application of Wallpott) v Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee and Aneurin Bevan University Health Board [2021] EWHC 3291 (Admin) [2022] ACD 27 involved a challenge to a refusal to fund potentially life-saving medical treatment. It concerned Maria Wallpott, a 50-year-old woman with a rare form of appendix cancer. Ms Wallpott’s clinicians had recommended that she undergo cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS with HIPEC). This treatment, involving the surgical removal of visible tumour and flushing with a heated chemotherapy agent, was not routinely available in Wales, in contrast to England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. An individual patient funding request (IPFR) was therefore made by Ms Wallpott’s doctor to the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC), which acted on behalf of the local health board. A WHSSC panel refused the request and maintained its decision on review.’
Law Society's Gazette, 20th May 2022
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The BBC has paid £1.64m in damages over the deaths of 11 former staff who died from cancer after working in corporation buildings riddled with asbestos, the Observer can reveal.’
The Guardian, 30th January 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A 50-year-old mother-of-two diagnosed with a rare form of cancer has “no case” for asking the NHS to pay for her potentially life-saving surgery, lawyers on behalf of a Welsh health board have said.’
The Independent, 2nd December 2021
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The BBC is being sued over the death of a set builder who contracted asbestos-related cancer while working on high-profile dramas including Doctor Who. Richard Evans’s widow, Valerie, is seeking damages from the corporation after it admitted in the high court that it had exposed him to asbestos during his 23 years making and painting sets.’
The Guardian, 19th September 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Senior managers at an NHS trust knew up to 30 cancers may have gone undetected two years before an official probe into a backlog of thousands of X-rays. Three lung cancers were missed at Worcestershire hospitals NHS Trust, a sample check of results in 2014 found.’
BBC News, 27th August 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Disgraced breast surgeon Ian Paterson has launched a bid to have his conviction for putting women through unnecessary surgery overturned, in a move that has left victims devastated.’
The Independent, 14th August 2021
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The Claimant brought a claim for damages against her General Practitioner for a missed diagnosis of breast cancer. As a result of the negligence, the Claimant had to undergo a mastectomy and axillary dissection, which would otherwise have been unnecessary. The Claimant argued that these treatments had left her with incapacitating chronic pain. The Defendant admitted breach of duty and causation, but contended that her claim should be dismissed because she had been fundamentally dishonest in relation to the claim.’
Parklane Plowden, 1st April 2021
Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk
‘This was a Court of Appeal decision following a hearing in December 2020. The parties to the Claim were the estate of the late Appellant, Michael Head and his former employer the Culver Heating Company Limited as Respondent.’
3PB, 2nd March 2021
Source: www.3pb.co.uk
‘A woman is taking legal action against an NHS trust over the “diabolical” and discriminatory treatment of her profoundly deaf husband, who died of cancer in May last year.’
The Guardian, 7th March 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The NHS is facing what doctors fear is “a legal storm” of claims for compensation from patients who could not get cancer treatment during the pandemic. Leading cancer surgeons are warning that patients who could not have surgery at the planned time, or a scan, or see their GP because of Covid-related disruption to services may sue if their cancer subsequently spread.’
The Guardian, 7th March 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘R (o.t.a of Aviva & Swiss Re) v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2020] EWHC 3118 (Admin). At first sight, a rather abstruse dispute, but the 63 page judgment of Henshaw J gives rise to a host of important and difficult human rights points. But his central conclusion is that a statute which was not challengeable at the time of its enactment became so, because of the subsequent evolution of the law, principally common law, to the detriment of insurers.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 25th November 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The appeal in Alexander Devine Children’s Cancer Trust v Housing Solutions Ltd [2020] UKSC 45 was the first time that either the Supreme Court or the House of Lords had considered the Upper Tribunal’s power to discharge or modify restrictive covenants affecting land under section 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925. The case confirms important principles affecting the interplay between private law property rights, planning and land use. Lord Burrows, giving the only substantive judgment of the Supreme Court, agreed with the Court of Appeal that the Upper Tribunal’s decision was wrong, but disagreed in a number of important respects with the speech of Sales LJ (as he then was) in the Court of Appeal ([2018] EWCA Civ 2679). For a number of reasons, it is likely that we shall be reading and re-reading this Supreme Court decision for many years to come.’
39 Essex Chambers, 9th November 2020
Source: www.39essex.com
‘This case concerned a young woman, K, who was assessed to lack capacity. K was diagnosed with cancer. The proposed treatment was “complex”, “intrusive” and was described as a “life-altering complexion”.’
Pump Court Chambers, 6th August 2020
Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com
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