New APIL head: Fixed costs will trigger decade of litigation – Legal Futures

Posted May 12th, 2023 in appeals, costs, negligence, news, personal injuries by tracey

‘The extension of fixed recoverable costs (FRCs) later this year will lead to “poor behaviours” by some parties and a decade of litigation to clarify how they work, the new president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has predicted.’

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Legal Futures, 12th May 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Infected blood victims and families urge UK government to drop defence – The Guardian

‘More than 500 people taking the government to court over the contaminated blood scandal are urging it to concede the case in light of evidence heard by a public inquiry and an interim report produced by its chair.’

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The Guardian, 23rd April 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge’s “dismay” at conduct of High Court claim – Legal Futures

Posted April 18th, 2023 in amendments, news, personal injuries, pleadings, pre-action conduct, railways by sally

‘A High Court judge has expressed her “dismay” that there was no pre-trial review in a case that was discontinued on day four of a trial that had been listed several months earlier.’

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Legal Futures, 18th April 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

QOCS changes in April 2023: the practical and tactical implications for claimants and their solicitors – Gatehouse Chambers

‘In what is becoming something of a pattern, the Rules committee have come along to clear up the anomaly resulting from the decisions in the Appellate courts, this time in Cartwright v Venduct Engineering Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 1654; [2018] 1 WLR 6137 and Ho v Adelekun [2021] UKSC 43; [2021] 1 WLR 5132.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 16th March 2023

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

Submarines, Sherlock Holmes and Clinical Negligence – Ropewalk Clinical Negligence Blog

Posted April 14th, 2023 in burden of proof, chambers articles, damages, negligence, news, personal injuries by tracey

‘A topic close to my (legal) heart, and one upon which I have been known to speak unprompted at some length, is the correct approach to fact-finding where several possible causes, or causal mechanisms, are suggested for the damage under investigation: a common feature of clinical negligence (and, more widely, personal injury) litigation.’

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Ropewalk Clinical Negligence Blog, 29th March 2023

Source: ropewalk.co.uk

Negligence and sports injuries: common threads – 12 King’s Bench Walk

‘Czernuska is the latest of a series of judgments determining whether injuries sustained during competitive sporting fixtures were caused by negligence. This blog considers the general principles and themes on liability that emerge from this kind of litigation by looking at Czernuska v King [2023] EWHC 380 (KB), Fulham Football Club v Jones [2022] EWHC 1108 (QB) and Tylicki v Gibbons [2021] EWHC 3470 (QB).’

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12 King's Bench Walk, 23rd March 2023

Source: www.12kbw.co.uk

Excalibur & Keswick Groundworks Ltd v McDonald – 3PB

Posted April 11th, 2023 in chambers articles, civil procedure rules, costs, news, personal injuries by sally

‘In Excalibur & Keswick Groundworks Ltd v McDonald [2023] EWCA Civ 18, the Court of Appeal has confirmed the difficulty of removing QOCS protection from a claimant who discontinues at the last moment. This follows previous decisions in the same spirit, such as Mabb v English [2017] EWHC 3616 (QB).’

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3PB, March 2023

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

QOCS and obstructing “the just disposal of proceedings” under CPR 44.15(c) in Excalibur and Keswick Groundworks v McDonald [2023] EWCA Civ 18 – 39 Essex Chambers

Posted April 11th, 2023 in chambers articles, civil procedure rules, costs, news, personal injuries by sally

‘It is a frustrating scenario which will be familiar to many defendant personal injury practitioners. A claimant moments before a trial begins, decides to file a notice to discontinue. The defendant, who has spent years building the defence at significant cost and expense, is unable to recover its legal costs because the claimant is protected under the Qualified One Way Costs Shifting (“QOCS”) regime. Is a defendant able to set aside this notice of discontinuance on the basis that the Claimant’s last-minute conduct has “obstructed the just disposal of proceedings” and thereby remove QOCS protection under CPR 44.15(c)? This issue came before the Court of Appeal in the recent case of Excalibur and Keswick Groundworks Limited v Keswick [2023] EWCA Civ 18.’

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39 Essex Chambers, 29th March 2023

Source: www.39essex.com

Law firm to “harness power of ChatGPT” for clinical negligence cases – Legal Futures

‘The biggest specialist personal injury firm in the country is working on ways to harness the power of technology related to ChatGPT to help it handle medical negligence claims.’

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Legal Futures, 11th April 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The High Court Considers the Guidelines for Diagnosis and Quantification of Military Noise-Induced Hearing Loss – Ropewalk Chambers

Posted April 11th, 2023 in armed forces, causation, news, noise, personal injuries by sally

‘This blog reviews the High Court decision in Barry v Ministry of Defence [2023] EWHC 459 (KB) and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the application of the Moore et al. Guidelines for Diagnosis and Quantification of Military Noise-Induced Hearing Loss.’

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Ropewalk Chambers, 14th March 2023

Source: ropewalk.co.uk

Infected Blood Inquiry orders compensation to be paid – Inquests and Inquires Law Blog

Posted April 11th, 2023 in blood products, compensation, inquiries, news, personal injuries, reports by sally

‘The Infected Blood Inquiry published its second interim report on Wednesday, 5 April 2023. Steven Snowden KC and Achas Burin of 12KBW, alongside Brian Cummins of Old Square Chambers, represented the largest group of victims in the Inquiry. In this blog article, Achas summarises and comments on the second interim report.’

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Inquests and Inquires Law Blog, 6th April 2023

Source: inquestsandinquirieslawblog.com

Judge says parents and children should receive infected blood payments – BBC News

Posted April 6th, 2023 in blood products, compensation, judges, news, personal injuries by michael

‘The chairman of the infected blood public inquiry, Sir Brian Langstaff, said it was time to “recognise deaths which have so far gone unrecognised”.’

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BBC News, 5th April 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

A Real Shift – Substantial Changes to CPR 44.14 – 3PB

‘Currently set off of a defendant’s costs against a claimant’s costs is precluded where it exceeds the monetary cap reflecting the total of any orders for damages and interest made in a claimant’s favour (Ho v Adelekun [2021] UKSC 43). Moreover, a defendant can only enforce their costs against damages and interest ordered in a claimant’s favour, i.e. not against a settlement made in the claimant’s favour (Cartwright v Venduct Engineering Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 1654).’

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3PB, March 2023

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

100 former rugby league players start legal fight with RFL over brain injuries – The Guardian

Posted April 5th, 2023 in duty of care, news, personal injuries, sport by sally

‘Legal proceedings have been formally issued against the Rugby Football League on behalf of 100 former league players who contend the sport was negligent in failing to take reasonable action to protect them from serious brain injuries.’

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The Guardian, 4th April 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Czernuska v King: Is Recklessness Required in Sporting Injury Cases? – Ropewalk Chambers

Posted April 5th, 2023 in chambers articles, damages, negligence, news, personal injuries, sport by sally

‘In Czernuszka v King [2023] EWHC 380 (KB), the Claimant, an amateur rugby player was tragically rendered paraplegic and wheelchair-dependent for the rest of her life. She claimed damages in negligence against the Defendant, who carried out the tackle which caused this injury.’

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Ropewalk Chambers, 31st March 2023

Source: ropewalk.co.uk

High-Value NIHL Claims: Application of the Ogden Tables – Ropewalk Chambers

‘A former Royal Marine was medically discharged at the age of 29 years with noise-induced hearing loss (“NIHL”) and tinnitus sustained after training exercises. Primary liability was admitted.’

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Ropewalk Chambers, 28th March 2023

Source: ropewalk.co.uk

Causation and Divisible Injury, The ‘Rocks Of Uncertainty’: CNZ (a minor) v Royal Bath Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Another [2023] EWHC 19 (KB) – 3PB

‘CNZ v Royal United Bath Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a must-read for those practising in clinical negligence and especially for those practising in birth injury cases. However, the case also provides useful guidance on material contribution and apportionment. Ritchie J sketches out important parameters on the law on material contribution and extracts the important distinction between divisible injury and divisible
outcome. The terminology can be nebulous unless a distinction is drawn between these concepts (injury and outcome) which Ritchie J provided with welcomed clarity. The law on material contribution has migrated from industrial disease to clinical negligence litigation and the judgment provides important guidance when a Claimant suffers an injury from a combination of tortious and non-tortious causes.’

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3PB, March 2023

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Council gets default ruling set aside in £6m mesothelioma case despite “inexcusable” delay – Local Government Lawyer

‘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.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 31st March 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

High Court Dismisses Application to Exclude Expert Evidence at Trial – Ropewalk Chambers

Posted March 30th, 2023 in chambers articles, evidence, expert witnesses, news, personal injuries by sally

‘In Fawcett v TUI UK Ltd [2023] EWHC 400 (KB), Dexter Dias KC, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, considered an application by the Claimant to exclude the Defendant’s expert evidence in a personal injury trial. The application was dismissed.’

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Ropewalk Chambers, 15th March 2023

Source: ropewalk.co.uk

Timing the Medical Examination: Read v Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – Ropewalk Clinical Negligence Blog

‘An interesting case came out of the Bear Garden at the end of February, which may be of interest to clinical negligence practitioners – Read v Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2023] EWHC 367 (KB)’

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Ropewalk Clinical Negligence Blog, 8th March 2023

Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk