Latest Personal Injury Blogs | Ropewalk Chambers

13 October 2021 - Written by Shilpa Shah

The Costs, the QOCS and the Set Off: Ho v Adelekun in the Supreme Court

In Ho v Adelekun [2021] UKSC 43, the Supreme Court considered whether and to what extent Defendants can offset ‘costs against costs’ in a QOCS case. ...

5 October 2021

Ropewalk Chambers is Ranked as a Top Tier Set in Personal Injury in the Legal 500 2022

Ropewalk Chambers is ranked as a top tier set in the field of personal injury in the latest edition of the Legal 500. This is an outstanding achievement for our personal injury barristers. We have been described as offering “an excellent service together wit...

25 August 2021 - Written by Nicholas Robinson

Fundamental Dishonesty: Theoretical Possibilities and Claimants Blaming Solicitors: Michael v IE&D Hurford Ltd [2021] EWHC 2318 (QB)

"…it will be rare for a claim to be fundamentally dishonest without the Claimant also being fundamentally dishonest, although that might be a theoretical possibility, at least" When Julian Knowle...

6 August 2021 - Written by Cassandra Williams

Further Developments on Pleading Fundamental Dishonesty: Covey v Harris [2021] EWHC 2211 (QB)

The court in Covey v Harris [2021] EWHC 2211 (QB) acceded to the Defendant’s application to amend its defence to plead fundamental dishonesty made less than a m...

2 August 2021 - Written by Gareth McAloon

Necessity in Applications to Vacate a Trial

In the context of a potentially high value claim following a road traffic accident involving a young Claimant, HHJ Walden-Smith recently refused the Claimant's application to vacate a trial to be listed in a trial window commencing November 2021 and to stay proceeding...

29 July 2021 - Written by Shilpa Shah

Chan v Peters: The Principles Governing Liability in Road Traffic Accident Cases

In the High Court case of Chan v (1) Peters (2) Advantage Insurance Company Ltd [2021] EWHC 2004 (QB), Cavanagh J took the opportunity to carefully distil the main principles at play ...

21 July 2021 - Written by Alex Denton & Hollie Birkett

Damages Claims Portal Pilot Scheme: An Overview

In an attempt to modernise an oft-labelled ‘antiquated’ justice sytem, a view more compelling in light of the difficulties faced during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has developed a programme of refo...

15 July 2021 - Written by Kate Longson

Transcripts! Who needs 'em? Bates v Snozone (Holdings) Ltd [2021] EWHC 1828 (QB)

In an appeal which raises questions of a trial judge’s evidential analysis, you could be forgiven for assuming that obtaining a transcript of the evidence should be the first job on any appellant file handler’s ‘to do’ list. However, the High C...

30 June 2021 - Written by Richard Seabrook

High Court Provides Further Guidance in Relation to Interim Payments

In AL (by her Mother and Litigation Friend, S) v Collingwood Insurance Company Ltd [2021] EWHC 1761 (QB), a catastrophic brain injury case, Robin Knowles J provided further guidance to practitioners as to the application of the established principles previous...

24 June 2021 - Written by Thomas Herbert

Mission Creep: Begum v Maran (UK) Ltd and the Duty of Care

“That the tort of negligence is a mess goes almost without saying.” So said David Ibbetson in How the Romans Did for Us: Ancient Roots of the Tort of Negligence (2003) 26 UNSWLJ 475. As James Plunkett ...

22 June 2021 - Written by Cassandra Williams

Local Standards Not Necessarily Determinative of the Standard of Care in Package Holiday Claims: TUI v Morgan

In TUI v Morgan [2021] PIQR P12, the Respondent, Mrs Morgan, sustained injury whilst on a package holiday to Mauritius, which she purchased from the Appellant, TUI. She was walking along an outdoor, unlit sun terrace at the hotel where she was staying when sh...

17 June 2021 - Written by Jessica Woodliffe

Dishonesty and Exceptional Circumstances under CPR rule 45.29J

On 27 November 2020, the High Court handed down judgment in James West v Joseph Olakanpo [2020] EWHC 3830 (QB) which concerns both dishonesty and the ‘exceptional circumstances’ test for costs exceeding fixed costs in low value personal injury cla...

16 June 2021 - Written by Philip Turton

British Psychological Society Publish Guidance on Recording of Neuropsychological Testing

In May 2021, following preparation by an advisory working group of its Professional Standards Unit, the British Psychological Society, Division of Neuropsychology, published Good Practice Guidelines on the recording of neuropsychological examinations and testing under...

10 May 2021 - Written by Rochelle Rong

The Key to a Successful Application for an Interim Payment: PAL v Davison [2021] EWHC 1108 (QB)

In PAL (a child by her mother and litigation friend COL) v Davison [2021] EWHC 1108 (QB) (judgment here), Yip J granted the Claimant’s application and ordered a furthe...

3 May 2021 - Written by Georgina Crawford

The Great British Public (and Their Dogs) v Farmers

I am sure that in our Brave New Covid World my dogs are not the only dogs who roll their eyes when I announce it’s time for (yet another) walkies. But where does the huge increase in the use of public rights of way leave our landowners, or more specifically the ...

29 April 2021 - Written by Edward James & Nicholas Robinson

Saliva Testing to Assist Diagnosis of Concussion in Sports Head Injuries

The development of a highly accurate saliva test to diagnose concussion in elite male rugby players has been labelled "game-changing" by Professor Antonio Belli, Chief Investigator of the study SCRUM (Study of Concussion in Rugby Union through MicroRNAs)...

27 April 2021 - Written by Sarah Hopkinson & Thomas Herbert

Part 36 Superposition: A Look at Wormald v Ahmed [2021] EWHC 973 (QB)

In a case concerning a child or protected party, during the period between its purported acceptance and approval under CPR Part 21, a Part 36 offer is – much like Schrödinger’s cat – in a state of superposition: it is both accepted but not bindi...

22 April 2021 - Written by Philip Turton & Katie McFarlane

Secondary Victim Appeal Listings in Paul and Polmear

In March, as part of the Ropewalk Chambers' Spring Webinar series, Philip Turton and Katie McFarlane reviewed the law relating to secondary victims in light of the decisions in Paul v The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust [2020] PIQR P19 and Polmear v Royal C...

19 April 2021 - Written by Tom Panton & Jack McCracken

Strict Liability is Dead, Long Live Strict Liability?

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 Equipment Regulations 1998 (“PUWER”). ...

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...

Ropewalk Chambers has a market-leading reputation in the field of personal injury. Its Members are known for providing robust advocacy, close attention to detail and comprehensive, practical advice at every stage.

Members of Chambers deal with the full breadth of personal injury claims, whether arising out of road traffic accidents, employers’ liability, public liability, occupiers’ liability, product liability, sporting accidents or accidents involving animals. Claims at all levels of severity are accommodated. Our barristers are experienced in dealing with limitation, liability, causation and quantum in personal injury claims.

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Ropewalk Personal Injury Blog