19 April 2021 - Written by Tom Panton & Jack McCracken
Strict Liability is Dead, Long Live Strict Liability?
Strict liability before 1 October 2013 Anyone practising in employer’s liability personal injury litigation will be familiar with the strict approach to liability for work equipment imposed by the Provision and Use of Work ...
14 April 2021 - Written by Philip Davy
Pleading Fundamental Dishonesty Allegations: Mustard v Flower [2021] EWHC 846 (QB)
The mustard flower is simple and delicate. The mustard seed, on the other hand, packs more of a punch. Pleadings of fundamental dishonesty in cases where there is no strong evidence (such as damaging surveillance) of a claimant’s fraud should, it seems, be more ...
9 April 2021 - Written by Nicholas Robinson
Highways Litigation: ALARM Bells Ring for Highway Authorities following Maintenance Survey
Last week saw the publication of this year’s Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey. This was the 26th such report commissioned by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA). It is an independent survey of local authority highways departments in England...
8 April 2021 - Written by Georgina Cursham, Hollie Birkett & Samuel Ford
Contributory Negligence in Road Traffic Accidents: Seatbelts and Drunk Drivers
Findings of contributory negligence against passengers who fail to wear a seatbelt and those who voluntarily get into a car with a driver under the influence of alcohol or drugs are commonplace. This blog aims to set out the underlying principles for quantifying the a...
25 March 2021 - Written by Shilpa Shah
Part 36 Offers: Liability Encapsulates Causation
In Seabrook v Adam [2021] EWCA Civ 382, the Court of Appeal held that a Claimant’s Part 36 offers to accept a ‘discounted’ 90% of his claim for damages to be assessed were not effective when causation was successfully challenged....
23 March 2021 - Written by Abigail Scott
Revisiting the Close Connection Test for Vicarious Liability: Adult Sexual Abuse Cases
In The Trustees Of The Barry Congregation Of Jehovah’s Witnesses v BXB [2021] EWCA Civ 356, the court revisited the two-stage test for vicarious liability and considered the application of the tailored close connection test to cases involving adult vict...
19 March 2021 - Written by Patrick Limb QC
The Cost of Care: Night-time Carers Are Not Entitled to Minimum Wage During Periods of Sleep
Today, 19 March 2021, the Supreme Court handed down judgment in the conjoined appeals of Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake; Shannon v Rampersad and another (T/A Clifton House Residential Home) [2021] UKSC 8. This is an employment law case that will ...
18 March 2021 - Written by Cassandra Williams
The Limitations of Challenging Uncontroverted Expert Evidence
An appeal is currently outstanding from the significant decision made on appeal by the High Court in Griffiths v TUI UK Ltd [2020] EWHC 2268 (QB). The Decision at First Instance The p...
15 March 2021 - Written by Andrew McNamara, Samuel Shelton & Thomas Herbert
Advocacy at Inquests: A Unique Opportunity
Inquests can be destabilising for advocates. Although there are similarities with other work – they take place in a Court (albeit sometimes at unconventional locations), they are presided over by a judicial figure, witnesses appear and are questioned and juries ...
3 March 2021 - Written by Damian Powell
Pondering the Imponderables: Future Loss of Earnings Claims Post-COVID
The significant uncertainties in the economy and the employment market caused by the pandemic may lead to an upsurge in defendants arguing that damages for future loss of earnings should be assessed by way of a Blamire and/or a Smith v Manchester awa...
25 February 2021 - Written by Alexandra Pountney
A Spate of Strike Outs: A Review of the Law on Res Judicata
During January 2021 the Court of Appeal handed down three judgments on appeals relating to strike out applications under CPR 3.4(2)(b): Allsop v Banner Jones Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 7, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP v BTI 2014 LLC [2021] EWCA Civ 9...
23 February 2021 - Written by Richard Seabrook & Philip Godfrey
Non-Delegable Duties of Care: A Review of Recent Developments in the Law
The recent case of Hopkins v (1) Akramy (2) Badger Group (3) NHS Commissioning Board [2020] EWHC 3445 (QB) considered whether an NHS Primary Care Trust owed a non-delegable duty of care with regard to healthcare services provided by a third party. HHJ Melissa...
17 February 2021 - Written by Alexandra Pountney
No Reason to Reply? Martlet Homes Ltd v Mullalley & Co Ltd [2021] EWHC 296 (TCC)
On 16 February 2021 the High Court handed down judgment in Martlet Homes Ltd v Mullalley & Co Ltd [2021] EWHC 296 (TCC), which gives guidance to practitioners on the often misunderstood role and remit of a Reply to Defence. ...
15 February 2021 - Written by Jason Cox
Very Late Permission for Expert Accommodation Evidence and Adjourning Trial Issues in a Serious Injury Claim
A judgment resolving various cross-applications a few weeks before trial in a serious PI case is perhaps not the most obvious subject for a blog. However, there is so much packed into the 15-paragraph judgment of Fordham J in Pass v Ministry of Defence [2021]...
3 February 2021 - Written by Richard Gregory
Bankrupt Claimants: Tips for Practitioners
Bankruptcy orders are relatively rare. Having never exceeded 10,000 per year before 1990, they exceeded 100,000 in 2009, and have only occasionally dipped beneath that figure. Even at those numbers, in recent years they approximate to 26 people per 10,000, or about a ...
29 January 2021 - Written by Alexandra Pountney
Pleading for Particularisation: The Downfall of a Deceit Claim
On 28 January the High Court handed down judgment on an interlocutory appeal in Kasem v University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2021] EWHC 136 (QB). Saini J struck out the Claimant NHS Trust’s statement of case for a defective pleading...
28 January 2021 - Written by Richard Gregory
Fundamental Dishonesty: A Review
A finding of fundamental dishonesty can be pursued by a defendant in a personal injury or disease claim through two different routes. The first is to secure the dismissal of the claim under section 57 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 1957. Most commonly,...
26 January 2021 - Written by Andrew Lyons
Solicitors' Hourly Rates on the Rise?
Almost all practitioners will know that the GHR have remained unchanged since 2010. These rates are set out in the following table: Guideline Hourly Rates In 2014 the Master of the Rolls refused to implement the recommend...
22 January 2021 - Written by Hollie Birkett
Voluntary Acceptance of an Obvious Risk May Not Be Fatal to an Occupiers' Liability Claim
In The White Lion Hotel v James [2021] EWCA Civ 31 the Court of Appeal considered the ambit of the well-known authorities on ‘obvious risks’ in the context of occupiers’ liability, and the proper approach to section 2(5) of the Occupiers' Li...
14 January 2021 - Written by Abigail Scott
Very Late Applications for Expert Reports: The Key is 'Significance'
In Knapman v Carbines [2020] EWHC 3586 (QB), HHJ Cotter QC considered the balancing exercise to be conducted upon a very late application to rely on an expert report. The Context Mr K...
13 January 2021 - Written by Philip Turton & Katie McFarlane
Young v Downey: A Commentary
On 16 December 2020, Martin Spencer J handed down judgment in Young v Downey [2020] EWHC 3457 (QB), an interesting decision on secondary victims in nervous shock cases. In this blog post, ...
5 January 2021
Jayne Adams QC Appointed a Master of the Bench of Gray's Inn
We are delighted to announce that Jayne Adams QC has been appointed a Master of the Bench of Gray’s Inn. Jayne’s appointment marks a recognition of her contribution to the law and her...
4 January 2021 - Written by Gareth McAloon
Control and Warnings under the 1957 Act: A Recent Decision from the High Court
The recent decision in Mathewson v Crump & Crump [2020] EWHC 3167 (QB) concerned a claim under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. In determining the claim, two particularly interesting features arose: Firs...
17 December 2020 - Written by Cassandra Williams
Medical Records in Civil Proceedings
Claimants often rely on medical records as evidence to corroborate their case as to the nature and extent of their injuries in personal injury litigation. Conversely, Defendants often use a Claimant’s medical records against them where those records c...
14 December 2020 - Written by Katie McFarlane
Recording of Medical Examinations: Revisited
Since the pandemic, the issue of covert recordings of medical examinations has risen to the fore following the drastic increase in use of technology to deliver patient care (telephone consultations, video consultations), making covert recording easier than ever before...
2 December 2020 - Written by Jayne Adams QC
Fatal Accident Claims - A Brief Overview
The area of fatal accident claims is wide and occasionally very complicated. An understanding of the principles and the cases that historically have shaped the Court’s approach is necessary. It is an area in which once the statutory provision is understood, a 'f...
30 November 2020 - Written by Thomas Herbert
Bolton v Stone Revisited
The seminal case of Bolton v Stone [1951] AC 850 concerned a Claimant on a residential side road who was hit by a ball struck by a batsman on an adjacent cricket ground. The claim ultimately failed. Some 67 years later, the Claimant in Lewi...
16 November 2020 - Written by Sarah Hopkinson, Kate Longson & Megan Verity
Identifying the Correct Defendant in RTA Claims
This is a brief guide to identifying the correct Defendant(s) in RTA claims. We will consider the position of the Defendant tortfeasor, the hierarchy of claims that can be brought against the tortfeasor’s insurer and when claims are correctly to be intimated aga...
13 November 2020 - Written by Thomas Herbert
More Likely Than Not: The Civil Standard of Proof Applies to All Short-Form and Narrative Conclusions at Inquests
By a majority of three to two, the Supreme Court has held that the standard of proof for findings of suicide and unlawful killing at an inquest is the balance of probabilities: R (Maughan) v Her Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Oxfordshire [2020] UKSC 46....
12 November 2020 - Written by Gareth McAloon
Failing to React and Reasonable Practicability under Section 41(1A) of the Highways Act 1980
A recent decision of particular importance to those involved in claims against Highway Authorities – particularly such claims as engage the Authority’s duty under s. 41(1A) of the Highways Act 1980 ("the Act") – is Smithson v (1) Lynn (2) North Y...
5 November 2020 - Written by Thomas Herbert
Three for the Price of One: Impecuniosity, Service and Relief from Sanctions
The Court of Appeal’s decision in Diriye v Bojaj [2020] EWCA Civ 1400 is of significance to all civil practitioners, and credit hire practitioners in particular. It considered (i) the proper pleading of allegations of impecuniosity in credit hire cases,...
2 November 2020 - Written by Andrew Lyons
Employer Not Directly or Vicariously Liable for Personal Injury Caused by Practical Joke Gone Wrong
Chell v Tarmac Cement and Lime Ltd [2020] EWHC 2613 (QB) arose from a poorly-judged practical joke when an employee set off explosive pellet-gun targets close to the Claimant’s head, causing irreversible hearing damage. It adds to the growing bank of au...
23 October 2020 - Written by Jessica Woodliffe
Context is Everything: Considering Risk of Injury in the Workplace
In Needle v Swallowfield plc [2020] EWHC 2759 (QB), the High Court considered the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 and reiterated that risk of injury is a context-specific question. The Court must have regard to the particular place of employment a...
20 October 2020 - Written by Patrick Limb QC
Proving Breach of Duty: The Uses and Limits of Adverse Inferences
Adverse inferences are means by which at least an evidential burden can be placed on the Defendant’s side of the litigation fence. They can be drawn where there is a failure to call witnesses that are available or to adduce documents that should be available. In...
13 October 2020 - Written by Damian Powell & Samuel Shelton
Statutory Bereavement Damages Extended (Only) to Cohabiting Partners
The Fatal Accidents Act 1976 (Remedial) Order 2020 (“the Order”) came into force on 6 October 2020. The effect of the Order is to extend the eligibility for bereavement damages under section 1A of the Fatal Accidents Ac...
27 August 2020 - Written by Samuel Shelton & Thomas Herbert
Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies are a Fact of Life, but Lies are Positively Manufactured
In Pegg v (1) Webb (2) Allianz Insurance plc [2020] EWHC 2095 (QB), Martin Spencer J overturned the trial judge’s finding that a personal injury claim arising from a road traffic accident was not fundamentally dishonest. To read the judgment, please cli...
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Recent Posts
- Strict Liability is Dead, Long Live Strict Liability?
- Pleading Fundamental Dishonesty Allegations: Mustard v Flower [2021] EWHC 846 (QB)
- Highways Litigation: ALARM Bells Ring for Highway Authorities following Maintenance Survey
