Blogs Archive

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 the title “Guidance on the Recording of Neuropsychological Testing in Medicolegal Settings”. The Guidance is aimed at Clinical Neuropsychologists undertaking…

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. An anonymous musical composition inspired by a classical Sanskrit poem.1 Introduction Two questions that often arise in disease litigation are whether a condition is divisible or indivisible and…

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 charities and campaigners to fully investigate brain injury in sport. The authors recently explored gender differences in…

This blog looks back to the Supreme Court’s 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 disease litigation. NIHL and the Code of Practice for Reducing Exposure of Employed Persons to Noise 1972 It is ten years…

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 (as discussed by Philip Godfrey and Alexandra Pountney recently on this blog), Sparkes v London Pension Funds Authority & Leigh Academies…

Imagine the following scenario. A patient, known to have mental health issues, has been consenting to a proposed or potential course of medical treatment. Then, as the need to embark on that treatment crystalizes and becomes urgent, consent is withdrawn. The treatment proposed is considered necessary to avoid a potentially fatal outcome for the patient.…

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 further interim payment in the sum of £2 million to fund the purchase and adaptation of long-term accommodation that would adequately meet the Claimant’s needs. The decision…

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 participants. However, a recent study available on the JAMA network, a free…

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 Judgment had been appropriately entered. The Facts The Claimant, now deceased, was a…

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 ‘keepers’ of animals, when…

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). Having previously identified that the “… concentration of specific molecules in saliva changes rapidly after a traumatic brain injury“, the…

Cauda equina syndrome is a rare and severe type of spinal stenosis. A narrowing of the spinal canal causes the nerves in the lower back to become severely compressed. Typically, but not exclusively, it results from a prolapsed disc bulge. The condition requires urgent hospital admission and timely surgery (usually decompression of the disc). The…