Blogs Archive

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is – much like Schrödinger’s cat – in a state of superposition: it is both accepted but not binding (i.e. liable to be withdrawn). The grounds on which such…

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 Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust [2021] EWHC 196 (QB). The webinar can be viewed…

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 here. The Assistant Coroner has now issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report dated 20 April 2021, which can be read…

The law requires medical practitioners to use diligence, care, knowledge, skill and caution in administering treatment to a patient. The question of whether a medical practitioner has met the requisite standard of care is often considered by reference to the test laid down in the case of Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee [1957] WLR 582.…

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”). Regulation 5 of PUWER imposed strict liability in relation to defective equipment, arising from the extremely well-known decision in Stark v Post Office…

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 like the former than the latter. Background In 2017, the Court…

In Negus v Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust [2021] EWHC 643 (QB), the High Court considered whether an NHS Trust was responsible for the Claimant’s death, where it was alleged that during cardiac surgery a 19 mm mechanical valve was implanted instead of a larger valve. The Claimant underwent a further operation a year…

In Negus v Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust [2021] EWHC 643 (QB), the High Court considered whether an NHS Trust was responsible for the Claimant’s death, where it was alleged that during cardiac surgery a 19 mm mechanical valve was implanted instead of a larger valve. The Claimant underwent a further operation a year…

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 and Wales. The full report can be viewed and downloaded here. Key Findings of the…

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, it demonstrates the court’s reluctance to order a preliminary issue trial in a complex and novel claim. Secondly, it foreshadows what promises to be a significant disease trial…

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 appropriate deduction to make in either case and to consider the…

On 25 March 2021 the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (“IIAC”) published “COVID-19 and occupation: position paper 48” – found here. It will be of interest to disease and personal injury practitioners alike, and a great many other people besides. On 1 April 2021 the BBC reported that: “About one in five people have symptoms of long Covid five weeks…