Latest Personal Injury Blogs | Ropewalk Chambers

18 May 2022 - Written by Kate Longson

Tips for Good Service: Part 1

It is imperative when embarking upon the preliminary stages of bringing a claim that claimants and their legal advisors are fully aware of the procedural requirements to effect good service upon any proposed defendant. Failing to do so can have grave consequences. This serious of articles will ex...

16 May 2022 - Written by Shilpa Shah

The Remit of Responsibility for a Tree Falling on to a Public Highway

There was no doubting that it was a “cruel combination of circumstances” when a cherry tree that had been growing on land immediately adjacent to a dual carriageway, suddenly fell directly onto Mr Hoyle’s car the exact moment he was driving ...

23 March 2022 - Written by Thomas Herbert

Slipping Claims and Evidential Burdens

The law in slipping cases is, in theory, settled and straightforward. One question that often arises in practice, however, is whether the defendant bears an evidential burden of proving that it had in place a proper and adequate system. It is a misconception that say ...

14 March 2022 - Written by Jason Cox

Claims for Commercial Care and Case Management in a Recruitment 'Perfect Storm'

In serious personal injury cases, the claim for future commercial care and case management is typically the most valuable and hotly-contested head of loss. In this blog I offer practical guidance to those involved in such claims as...

10 February 2022 - Written by Katie McFarlane

Claims for Functional Neurological Disorder

This blog looks at Functional Neurological Disorder (“FND”): what it is, how it is diagnosed, what medico-legal issues arise, and potential treatments. What is FND? FND is an umbre...

25 January 2022 - Written by Gareth McAloon

And To Make Matters Worse... Guidance on Establishing a Duty of Care by a Public Authority

A ‘public authority’ is generally an entity which possesses the power and ability to intervene in a variety of situations where a private entity would be unable to. Of course, as the saying goes, ‘with great power comes great responsibility’. P...

19 January 2022 - Written by Tom Panton

The Court of Appeal find that Occupiers of Land Adjoining the Highway Owe No Duty to Prevent Drivers Accidentally Trespassing onto Their Land

On 16 May 2017 Mrs Hazel Brown tragically drowned when her car left the C164 highway near Redruth in Cornwall and entered the Stithians Reservoir. This case concerned a fatal accident claim by her family against the two occupiers of the reservoir and against the local...

17 January 2022 - Written by Philip Turton & Katie McFarlane

Who Can Claim? The Court of Appeal Reviews the Law Relating to Secondary Victims in Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

The question of who can claim for “nervous shock” is upon us again. The issue is one which has periodically ventured as far as the House of Lords, since the decision in Bourhill v Young [1943] AC 92 and, following the decision of the Court of Appe...

12 January 2022 - Written by Samuel Ford

Testing the Limits: Are Passengers of Drink Drivers Contributorily Negligent for Failing to Act on What They Ought to Have Known?

In Campbell v Advantage Insurance Co [2021] EWCA Civ 1698 the Court of Appeal has given guidance on the assessment of passengers’ contributory negligence in drink-driver cases. The Facts ...

9 December 2021 - Written by Sarah Hopkinson & Kate Longson

A Few Pieces Short of a Jigsaw: Appealing Inadequately Reasoned Judgments

It is not uncommon for a losing party to be disgruntled by the outcome of his/her case. However, the majority of the time, the findings of fact which have brought a judge to their conclusion will be unimpeachable and the reasons given, whilst potentially contrary to t...

25 November 2021 - Written by Jack McCracken

Third Party Violence at Work: The Problem of Causation - Cunningham v Rochdale MBC [2021] EWCA Civ 1719

On 19 November 2021 the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in an important decision on an employer’s liability claim for damages for personal injury suffered by an Assistant Head Teacher who was assaulted by a pupil. Dingemans LJ gave the sole reasoned judgmen...

2 November 2021 - Written by Cassandra Williams

Uncontroverted Expert Evidence Is Not Incontrovertible

The Court of Appeal handed down judgment last month allowing the Defendant’s appeal against the decision of Martin Spencer J in the case of Griffiths v TUI UK Ltd. The High Court decision is discussed in the author's blog entitled “The L...

20 October 2021 - Written by Jessica Woodliffe

Occupiers' Liability and Mental State: Trespassers Who Change Their Minds

The High Court recently considered the meaning of ‘trespassers’ and the relevance of a person’s state of mind and intention for the purposes of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984 in the case of ...

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...

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.

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

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Ropewalk Personal Injury Blog