‘The drunkenness of a passenger seeking damages for injuries sustained in a car crash ‘will not avoid a finding of contributory negligence’ where the claimant should have appreciated that the driver was too drunk to drive safely, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’
Law Society's Gazette, 16th November 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘In Castello v Gonschior [2021] EWHC 2742 (QB), Lambert J provides an important reminder of the importance of choosing the right experts and an example of the relevance, or lack of relevance, of complaints by other patients, and the evidential principles of “res ipsa loquitur” and Keefe v The Isle of Man Steam Packet Co Ltd [2010] EWCA Civ 683 (“Keefe”) in clinical negligence claims.’
Ropewalk Clinical Negligence Blog, 11th November 2021
Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk
‘A boy who suffered “catastrophic brain injuries” when doctors failed to see he had a virus and sent him home after he had a seizure has been awarded £27m.’
BBC News, 11th November 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Civil practitioners dealing with personal injury claims are generally familiar with the three-year limitation period imposed by section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980. Put simply, claims for personal injury (whether arising from negligence, nuisance or breach of duty) must be brought within three years of the date on which the cause of action accrued (section 11(4)(a)) or the date of knowledge (if later) of the person injured (section 11(4)(b)). A person’s “date of knowledge” for the purposes of section 11(4)(b) is defined in section 14 of the Limitation Act 1980.’
Ropewalk Clinical Negligence Blog, 2nd November 2021
Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk
“An experienced solicitor who worked at Slater & Gordon has been struck off after telling a personal injury client that her case was ongoing when it had actually settled and using some of the money to pay other clients damages they were not entitled to.”
Legal Futures, 4th November 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
“A former police officer who claimed he was in too much pain to work has been jailed for fraud after a covert surveillance team caught him playing sport and an app on his phone showed he was taking 10,000 steps a day.”
The Guardian, 4th November 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Claimant was employed as a labourer by the Second Defendant (‘YKS’) who, in turn, were engaged by the Appellant Fourth Defendant (‘Buttar’) as an independent brickwork contractor. The First and Third Defendants were individuals who controlled the Second and Fourth Defendants. The Claimant suffered catastrophic injuries at a building site and brought proceedings in negligence against, inter alia, YKS, as his employer; and Buttar, as the main contractor on site. The Court recognised that there was a compelling need for an interim payment to fund an appropriate rehabilitation package for the Claimant if he was able to satisfy the legal requirements for obtaining the same.’
Gatehouse Chambers, 28th October 2021
Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk
‘QOCS applies to most personal injury (“PI”) claims. It usually limits the ability of a successful defendant to recover its costs against an unsuccessful claimant.’
Lamb Chambers, October 2021
Source: www.lambchambers.co.uk
‘A law firm now part of consolidator Metamorph Law has been only partially successful in striking out a claim over how it advised a client on his clinical negligence case.’
Legal Futures, 1st November 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘This blog deals with the causation aspects of Thorley v Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust [2021] EWHC 2604 (QB). Philip Godfrey dealt with the factual background and breach of duty aspects of this case in his recent blog. In short, Soole J preferred the evidence of the Defendant’s expert and dismissed the claim on that basis. In so doing, however, he concluded that as a matter of law the material contribution approach to causation does not apply when there is a single tortfeasor and an indivisible injury.
Soole J is surely right to acknowledge that this is an issue “ripe for authoritative review” (see [151]), but it is suggested that his reasons for reaching the above conclusion are somewhat questionable.’
Ropewalk Clinical Negligence Blog, 26th October 2021
Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk
‘In Ho v Adelekun [2021] UKSC 43, the Supreme Court considered the mechanics of qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS). The claimant was injured in a road traffic accident in 2012. In 2017, she was offered £30,000 by the defendant in settlement of her claim in what was described as a “Part 36 offer letter”. In that letter, the defendant offered to pay the claimant’s costs “in accordance with Part 36 rule 13”, such costs to be subject to detailed assessment if not agreed, if the offer was accepted within 21 days. The claimant decided to accept the offer and a Tomlin order was subsequently made by consent. However, the defendant then argued that the claimant’s costs were limited to the fixed costs recoverable in accordance with the terms of Part 45 Section IIIA of the Civil Procedure Rules.’
Law Society's Gazette, 25th October 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘In January 2010 the respondent and their husband were on holiday in Egypt. They stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza. On 3 January 2010, they went on a guided driving tour booked through the hotel. The vehicle they were travelling in during the tour crashed, killing the respondent’s husband and seriously injuring the respondent.’
UKSC Blog, 20th October 2021
Source: ukscblog.com
‘This case considered the interplay between hospital guidelines and breach of duty in the clinical negligence setting.’
Ropewalk Clinical Negligence Blog, 12th October 2021
Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has found – albeit by a majority verdict – in favour of a defendant who offered no evidence to support their case and did not cross-examine the claimant’s instructed expert. The ruling on uncontroverted evidence in Griffiths v Tui will be a blow for personal injury firms with hundreds of holiday sickness claims waiting on the result.’
Law Society's Gazette, 7th October 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The Supreme Court has held that defendants cannot set off opposing costs orders in cases covered by qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS), in what has been hailed as a significant win for claimants.’
Legal Futures, 6th October 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘A television presenter has been awarded £1.6m in damages after he suffered brain and spine injuries while acting as a “crash test dummy” in a science programme. Jeremy Stansfield won a High Court battle with the BBC on Friday, with Dame Justice Amanda Yip ruling that the injuries he received in 2013 had derailed his “successful career in television” and restricted his enjoyment of life.’
The Independent, 2nd October 2021
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘A man with longstanding mental health issues walks into a pub with a can of petrol and a knife. He proceeds to pour the petrol on himself and says he is going to burn the pub down. The police are called, he is arrested and whilst in police custody, he undergoes a Mental Health Act assessment. It is alleged that the assessors negligently fail to recommend transfer to a secure psychiatric unit. The man alleges that he suffered an exacerbation of his mental health as a result of being transferred to a medium secure prison where he witnessed various unpleasant acts that he would not have witnessed in a secure psychiatric unit.’
Ropewalk Clinical Negligence Blog, 22nd September 2021
Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk
‘A judge was right to find that a claimant who exaggerated the impact of a serious injury was not fundamentally dishonest, the High Court has ruled.’
Legal Futures, 20th September 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Lawyers chasing personal injury firms over the deductions from former clients’ damages have been handed a huge twin boost by the court.’
Law Society's Gazette, 17th September 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
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