Latest Disease Blogs | Ropewalk Chambers

16 November 2021 - Written by Philip Turton

Asbestos Induced Lung Cancer Claim Dismissed in the High Court: A Commentary on Ward v Wellcome Foundation Ltd

On Friday 12 November 2021, HHJ Melissa Clarke, sitting as a Judge of the High Court, dismissed the claim of Terence Ward. Mr Ward sought damages for lung cancer which he contended had been caused by exposure to asbestos in the course of two periods of employment...

9 November 2021 - Written by Philip Turton

Oh Flower of Scotland... Haggerty-Garton v ICI [2021] EWHC 2924 (QB)

On 3 November 2021 the newly appointed Ritchie J handed down his judgment in Haggerty-Garton v ICI [2021] EWHC 2924 (QB), a mesothelioma case brought in the High Court but, pursuant to a consent order agreed between the First Claimant and the Defendant, ...

4 November 2021 - Written by Edward James & Nicholas Robinson

Rugby League Players Follow Union Players in Bringing Claims for Early Onset Dementia

A claim is being brought against the Rugby Football League (RFL) by a group of 10 ex-professional rugby league players. The claim follows on from the announcement that in December 2020 a letter of claim had been sent in respect of rugby union players considered in thi...

3 November 2021 - Written by Richard Gregory

Controlling Noise at Work: New HSE Guidance on Regulations

The first edition of 'Controlling Noise at Work' was published in 1998, and was founded on the earlier Noise at Work Regulations 1989. It was comprehensively revised in 2005 in advance of the enactment of the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 from 6 April...

27 October 2021

Ropewalk Chambers is Once Again Ranked as One of Only Four Sets for Industrial Disease in Chambers & Partners 2022

It has been a fantastic month for Ropewalk Chambers, following our recent achievements in the Legal 500. R...

5 October 2021

Ropewalk Chambers' Disease Team Recognised in the Legal 500 2022

Chambers' expertise in the field of industrial disease has once again been recognised in the latest edition of the Legal 500. We have been described as providing “an excellent service together with outstanding barristers” as well as having “...

13 September 2021 - Written by Philip Godfrey

SURPRISE! Now, Show Cause!

On 27 July 2021, the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in Ministry of Defence v Sivaji [2021] EWCA Civ 1163 which addresses the procedural rules f...

16 August 2021 - Written by Andrew McNamara & Gareth McAloon

Pleading and Proving Section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980

Andrew McNamara and Gareth McAloon consider the correct approach to section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980, three years on from the leading case of Carr v Panel Products (Kimpton) Limited [2018] EWCA Civ 190. It is now thre...

3 August 2021 - Written by Jonathan Owen

Historic Industrial Disease Claims with a Connection to a Jurisdiction Outside of England and Wales

The question this blog addresses is what to look out for, as “headline points”, in an industrial disease claim with a connection to a foreign jurisdiction: e.g. the alleged wrong was committed in a jurisdiction other than England and Wales, or the conseque...

28 July 2021 - Written by Christopher Lowe

Noise-Induced Hearing Loss and Medical Causation: NIL on the Slide!

In this blog, Chris Lowe reviews the current requirements for proving medical causation in NIHL claims, reviewing recent practice in relation to the “Guidelines…” paper and considering the "R3" requirement With a...

21 July 2021 - Written by Philip Davy

Abandoning a Single Joint Expert

The single joint expert’s decision can often have a decisive effect upon the viability and outcome of a given claim, particularly a disease claim. If the expert’s opinion is unfavourable, the aggrieved party will want t...

29 June 2021 - Written by Philip Turton

They Tried to Make Me File a Budget - I said No, No, No...

Master Davison closed the door, firmly, on costs budgeting in the Asbestos List in Smith v W Ford & Sons (Contractors) Ltd [2021] EWHC 1749 (QB). Philip Turton reports on the decision. The judgment can be read ...

22 June 2021 - Written by Nikhil Arora

Success Fees in Mesothelioma Cases: Moutarde v SIG Logistics

In this blog, Nik Arora reviews the decision in Moutarde v SIG Logistics to limit the Claimant's success fee in a mesothelioma claim to 27.5%. Q. When is a trial not a trial? ...

15 June 2021 - Written by Thomas Herbert

(In)divisible, That's What You Are

Show me that you can divide the notes of a song; But first, show me that you can discern Between what can be divided And what cannot....

25 May 2021 - Written by Edward James & Nicholas Robinson

Dementia in Sports Participants: An Industrial Disease?

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Concussion in Sport Inquiry committee has been holding consultations with leading experts, former professional sports athletes, the Chief Medical Officers and Chief Executives of Sports Governing Bodies as well as cha...

18 May 2021 - Written by Toby Stewart, Sarah Hopkinson & Kate Longson

The Scope and Limits of Acceptable Risk in Exposure Cases

Toby Stewart, Sarah Hopkinson and Kate Longson look back to the leading House of Lords decision in Baker v Quantum Clothing Group Ltd [2011] 1 WLR 1003 and discuss how the concepts of risk and acceptable limits of exposure now operate in modern day ...

17 May 2021 - Written by Richard Gregory

Non-Party Disclosure and CPR 31.17: Sparkes v London Pension Funds Authority & Leigh Academies Trust

A good month for claimants in historic asbestos claims continues. Coming shortly after Scarborough College Ltd v Winter [2021] EWHC 1549 (QB), in which a Show Cause finding in a claimant’s favour was undisturbed on appeal (...

7 May 2021 - Written by Edward James & Nicholas Robinson

Concussion in Sport: Gender Differences Highlighted by Results of Recent Study

The issue of concussion in sport is frequently in the news at the moment. The risks and consequences of concussion have been highlighted in rugby, football, boxing and many other sports. However, the vast majority of these issues have been focussed on male participant...

6 May 2021 - Written by Philip Godfrey & Alexandra Pountney

Scarborough College v Winter: Spotlight on the Show Cause Procedure

In Scarborough College Ltd v Winter [2021] EWHC 1549 (QB), the High Court considered an appeal by a Defendant against the decision of a Master to enter judgment under CPR PD3D (the show cause procedure). The appeal was dismissed. Cavanagh J held that Jud...

22 April 2021 - Written by Thomas Herbert & Jessica Woodliffe

Coroner Calls for Lower UK Air Pollution Limits and Increased Awareness of Pollution Levels to Prevent Deaths

In December 2020, HM Assistant Coroner for Inner South London, Philip Barlow, concluded that air pollution contributed to nine-year-old Ella Adoo Kissi-Debrah’s death in 2013. Thomas Herbert’s blog on that decision can be read ...

9 April 2021 - Written by Thomas Herbert

High Court Refuses Defendant's Request to Try Causation as a Preliminary Issue in Claim under the COSHH Regulations

Freedman J’s decision in Mather v Ministry of Defence [2021] EWHC 811 (QB) – which can be read here – is interesting for (at least) two reasons. First, ...

6 April 2021 - Written by Patrick Limb QC

COVID-19 and Occupation: An Interim Report from the IIAC

On 25 March 2021 the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (“IIAC”) published "COVID-19 and occupation: position paper 48” – found ...

31 March 2021 - Written by Thomas Herbert & Jessica Woodliffe

The CJEU Finds that the UK Breached its Obligations under the Air Quality Directive

On 4 March 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union ("the CJEU") handed down judgment in Commission v UK (Limit Values – Nitrogen Dioxide) [2021] EUECJ C-664/18. The CJEU declared that the UK had breached certain of its obligations under Directi...

30 March 2021 - Written by Abigail Scott

Causation in Occupational Cancer Claims: An Overview

The law adopts a nuanced approach to causation in occupational cancer claims. Practitioners dealing with such claims must be alive to the distinctions and difficulties that may arise in this area. This post provides an overview of the application of the different test...

26 February 2021 - Written by Kam Jaspal

Long Covid: An Industrial Disease?

Long Covid is the term used to describe the lasting effects of contracting COVID-19 and has been referred to as the “hidden health crisis of the pandemic”. There is growing support for Long Covid (also known as...

24 February 2021 - Written by Nicholas Robinson

Aerotoxicity Litigation: The Global Cabin Air Quality Executive Launches a 'Clean Air Campaign'

A global campaign has been launched to mandate the introduction of filtration and warning systems on commercial aircraft and address concerns over alleged ‘aerotoxic syndrome’. The ‘Aerotoxicity Litigation’ ...

19 January 2021 - Written by Thomas Herbert

Court of Appeal Considers 'Lost Years' Claims in Head v The Culver Heating Co Ltd

In a judgment handed down on 18 January 2021 in Head v The Culver Heating Co Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 34, the Court of Appeal unanimously allowed an appeal against the decision of HHJ Melissa Clarke dismissing the Claimant's 'lost years' claim. The judge had dismi...

18 January 2021 - Written by Jessica Woodliffe

Latest Instalment in Insurers' Challenge to CRU Provisions

In R (on the application of (1) Aviva Insurance Ltd (2) Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd) v The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] EWHC 30 (Admin), Henshaw J dealt with certain consequential matters arising from his ...

Ropewalk Chambers has, over many decades, established a market-leading reputation for detailed and specialist expertise in the field of Industrial Disease litigation.

Whether asbestos, noise, dust, vibration, stress or any other insidious process, including those which are newly emerging, its members have consistently appeared in the leading cases, determining the limits of liability, causation and quantum at first instance and appellate level.

Work is distributed within Chambers to enable Members of Chambers to represent both Claimants and Defendants in this field.

To find out more about our Disease barristers, click here.

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