‘The number of personal injury claims registered with the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) fell over the last year to the lowest point in a decade, newly published figures have shown.’
Litigation Futures, 22nd July 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘The medico-legal and insurance services (MLIS) market had an estimated turnover of £700m last year but the coronavirus will have a “major impact”, a report has warned.’
Litigation Futures, 16th July 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘The family of a man Tasered in his own home are considering suing Scotland Yard after the police watchdog said it had not exonerated officers involved in the case – despite the Metropolitan police claiming it had done so.’
The Guardian, 16th July 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘In PQ (a child, by her litigation friend) v Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, Martin Spencer J was required to rule on an application that the identity of the Claimant and her family be anonymised, for the purposes of a liability-only clinical negligence trial. Although only a short, first-instance decision, the case effectively makes anonymisation orders in such circumstances all but inevitable.’
Parklane Plowden Chambers, 30th June 2020
Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk
‘Personal injury (PI) law firms and insurers expect a dip in workload over the next six months as a result of Covid-19 but expect the market to have recovered by the end of 2021, a survey has suggested.’
Litigation Futures, 10th July 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘At 28, the Claimant had acquired a traumatic brain injury and been rendered tetraplegic in an accident caused by the negligent driving of the Defendant. The case came before Master Eastman in July 2019 for case management. At that stage, it was common ground between the experts in neurology for each party that the Claimant’s injuries had significantly reduced his life expectancy. However, they disagreed as to the extent of the reduction, Dr Liu for the Claimant estimating that his life expectancy to be 30-35% of normal; Professor Collin for the Defendant adopting a figure of 30-44% of normal. There were also differences in the experts’ approach to available statistics. Whilst the range of figures adopted by each expert were not far apart and it was likely that the Claimant’s care costs would by awarded by way of a PPO, it was nonetheless accepted that the difference between the parties translated to a 7-figure sum. At the CMC before Master Eastman in July 2019, the Defendant’s application for permission to rely on a report, from medical statisticians on the issue of the Claimant’s life expectancy, was dismissed on the basis that neither party’s neurology expert deferred to evidence from a statistician to assist them in determining the Claimant’s life-expectancy and such evidence would not add to their existing analysis of the available statistics. The Defendant did not appeal.’
No. 5 Chambers, 22nd June 2020
Source: www.no5.com
‘Another group action has gone live this week, with more than 250 women left permanently injured by mesh implant surgery suing a group of pharmaceutical giants.’
Litigation Futures, 26th June 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘The fundamental and long-debated approach to awarding compensation for special accommodation today arrived at the Court of Appeal.’
Law Society's Gazette, 23rd June 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The High Court has refused an insurer permission to rely on a new expert whose evidence reduced the estimated life expectancy of a personal injury claimant.’
Law Society's Gazette, 17th June 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The law relating to secondary victims, who suffer psychiatric injury as a result of witnessing a shocking event, has long been an area of contention.’
St Philips Chambers, 8th June 2020
Source: st-philips.com
‘The interplay of cases and statutes including some from the last century hardly makes for exciting bedtime reading but Barlow v Wigan MBC is an important decision for those who suffer injury as a result of a highway defect particularly if they are walking on a path in a park established many years ago. It is also a tribute to solicitors and counsel who pursue such claims with dogged determination, and in the case of those acting for Claimants, at a risk if the claim is unsuccessful of receiving no payment in return.’
No. 5 Chambers, 8th June 2020
Source: www.no5.com
‘This article intends to investigate probably well-rehearsed principles implied in bringing actions for personal injury against long-since defunct and even dissolved companies.’
Parklane Plowden Chambers, 10th June 2020
Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk
‘Mr Justice Morris dismissed the Defendant’s appeal seeking to overturn Master Rowley’s decision that a Calderbank Offer without a time limit was capable of being accepted two days into a detailed assessment hearing.’
No. 5 Chambers, 8th June 2020
Source: www.no5.com
‘Just over a quarter (26%) of defendants are using Covid-19 as an excuse to stall brain injury claims, despite guidelines urging the parties to take a consensual approach, research has suggested.’
Litigation Futures, 9th June 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘In November 2019 Master Cook had struck out the secondary victim claims brought by the Claimants as a result of witnessing the heart attack and subsequent death of their father some 14 ½ months after the alleged negligent omission of the Defendant Trust. This was on the basis that the claims were bound to fail on a strict application of binding authorities including Taylor -v- A. Novo [2014] QB 150 because the shocking event in question was not proximate in time to the breach of duty. In Taylor v A. Novo the Court of Appeal had dismissed a secondary victim claim where the claimant’s mother had been injured by a falling stack of boards due to the negligence of a colleague at work and had subsequently collapsed and died at home as result of deep vein thrombosis secondary to the accident. The claimant witnessed her mother collapsing at home but not the accident itself. Her claim failed on proximity because the death of the claimant’s mother was not the relevant shocking “event”, which was the accident itself, and so the control mechanisms were not satisfied.’
St John's Chambers, 4th June 2020
Source: www.stjohnschambers.co.uk
‘NHS Resolution has added one provider to its mediation panel following what it said was a “highly competitive retender” process that saw the existing three reappointed.’
Litigation Futures, 9th June 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Sir Robert Francis QC (sitting as a deputy high court judge) recently handed down his judgment in Harris v Bartrums Haulage and Storage Ltd and another [2020] EWHC 900 (QB). It serves as a useful reminder of what employers must do to discharge their duty of care in terms of training and risk assessments. The key is being able to show that they are more than a “mere formality” [110]. On the facts of Harris, Sir Robert found that the First Defendant had acted negligently but dismissed the claim on causation. However, his critique of the First Defendant’s training and risk assessment process is relevant to all employers.’
12 King's Bench Walk, 26th May 2020
Source: www.12kbw.co.uk
‘The time litigants have to wait to reach trial in civil claims reached record lengths even before the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic hit, new government figures have revealed.’
Litigation Futures, 4th June 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Dominic Lis Waniso Lungowe & ors v Vedanta Resources PLC & anor [2020] EWHC 749 (TCC) gives important guidance on the position and role of lead solicitors in group litigation. It highlights the need for careful written arrangements setting out the relationship between lead and other solicitors and their respective responsibilities.’
Doughty Street Chambers, 19th May 2020
Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk
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