On 17 July 2023, the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) published two important papers in relation to hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). HAVS, then known as Vibration White Finger, was first prescribed as an industrial disease by the IIAC over 40 years ago following the publication of its Command Paper Cm 8350 in 1981. The background…
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Disease Blog
04 Dec 2023
Following on from our October 2022 Rugby Union article on instrumented mouthguards, World Rugby will now be adopting mouthguards with smart technology that measures the force of impacts to the head in real time during matches. The mouthguards have already been used in the inaugural WXV competition and will be mandatory in World Rugby games…
09 Nov 2023
An award of damages in an asbestosis claim is reasonably substantial, often in the region of six figures. It is almost always made on a provisional basis, a consequence of which is that, unless the return clauses are activated, special damages are usually lower than general damages. Therefore, the award for general damages is likely…
Ropewalk Chambers has, over many decades, established a market-leading reputation for detailed and specialist expertise in the field of Industrial Disease litigation.
Whether asbestos, noise, dust, vibration, stress or any other insidious process, including those which are newly emerging, its members have consistently appeared in the leading cases, determining the limits of liability, causation and quantum at first instance and appellate level.
Work is distributed within Chambers to enable Members of Chambers to represent both Claimants and Defendants in this field.
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04 Jul 2024
On 14 March 2024 the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in White v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2024] EWCA Civ 244. The White appeal was one of two cases, heard together, the other being Cuthbert v Taylor Woodrow Construction Holdings. The issue in each case was that of breach…
09 Oct 2023
What’s wrong with this picture (taken from this Breathe Freely Toolbox Talk)? Introduction In July of 2023, as I walked from the Combined Court Centre in Sheffield in the company of other disease lawyers, we passed a construction site that bore the impression of compliance with the Construction Design & Management Regulations 2015: a modern,…
01 Aug 2023
Whether assessing the likely award of general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (“PSLA”) on behalf of a Claimant, setting a reserve or considering a Part 36 offer for a Defendant, it is important to ensure that one can be as accurate as possible in the assessment of general damages for PSLA. In…
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19 July 2023Read more
Audiometric testing of employees has played a central role in the management of risk of exposure of workers to excessive levels of noise in industry for many decades. Audiometry can detect early damage to hearing. Typically where used by prudent employers, the testing would have comprised self-recorded automated audiometry (such as Bekesy audiograms). The reliability and relevance…
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4 July 2023Read more
Since the late 1990s, the courts have approached the issues of diagnosis and causation of Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (“HAVS”), and quantification of general damages, by reference to HAVS’s two constituent components: vascular HAVS and sensorineural HAVS. There is also evidence, however, that hand-transmitted vibration can damage the musculoskeletal system. Vascular HAVS involves damage to the…
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18 May 2023Read more
The risks associated with exposure to vibration from hand-held tools in the workplace have been increasingly well publicised over the last half-century and have resulted in specialist regulation in an effort to reduce injury. Despite that, employees suffering injury as a result of vibration exposure is not a thing of the past. The most recent…
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20 April 2023Read more
In May 2014, the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) published a command paper in which recommendations were made to add Dupuytren’s contracture, due to hand-transmitted vibration, to the list of prescribed diseases. The recommendation was to prescribe Dupuytren’s when severe enough to involve fixed flexion deformity and following exposure of at least 10 years in aggregate…
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4 April 2023Read more
‘Back in the day’ – not a phrase ever used back in the day – I recall mention in pupillage of three occupational conditions, farmer’s lung, bird fancier’s lung and bagpiper’s lung. They acquired a sort of mythological status as no such cases ever passed across the desks of my pupil supervisors. Farmer’s lung was…
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28 March 2023Read more
On 3 March 2023, Johnson J gave judgment in Barry v Ministry of Defence [2023] EWHC 459 (KB). A former Royal Marine was medically discharged at the age of 29 years with noise-induced hearing loss (“NIHL”) and tinnitus sustained after training exercises. Primary liability was admitted. The Ministry of Defence contended for contributory negligence (in failing to…
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14 March 2023Read more
This blog reviews the High Court decision in Barry v Ministry of Defence [2023] EWHC 459 (KB) and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the application of the Moore et al. Guidelines for Diagnosis and Quantification of Military Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. Those who practise in the field of noise induced hearing loss (“NIHL”) are waiting with bated breath for some authoritative…
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8 March 2023Read more
Those practising in the field of noise induced hearing loss (“NIHL”) will be familiar with the Coles, Lutman and Buffin Guidelines 2000 (the “CLB Guidelines”) and the later Lutman, Coles and Buffin Guidelines 2015 (the “LCB Guidelines”) published to assist medical and legal practitioners in the diagnosis and quantification of hearing loss, respectively. In February…
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1 March 2023Read more
Briggs v Drylined Homes Ltd [2023] EWHC 382 (KB) (judgment here) concerned a claim by the widow of Mr Brian Briggs, who died in 2017 after contracting mesothelioma. The Claimant brought a claim against one of her husband’s former employers, Drylined Homes Ltd (“DHL”). DHL had engaged Mr Briggs between approximately 1975 and 1979 to carry out ‘drylining’, namely putting…
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21 February 2023Read more
This blog reviews direct liability for acoustic shock, where the Defendant is an emanation of the state. Take the following scenario: A Claimant works in a call centre and alleges tinnitus caused by spikes of excessive noise from his headset. By reason of section 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, the Claimant cannot…
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5 December 2022Read more
Philip Turton, counsel for the Defendant in the case, offers an appraisal of the recent judgment of Jeremy Hyam KC, sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court, in White v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2022] EWHC 3082 (KB). The judgment can be read here. Thomas White was yet another victim of mesothelioma,…
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2 December 2022Read more
On 10 November 2022, in the High Court, King’s Bench Division, Damian Powell, instructed by James Traynor of Plexus Law, appeared on behalf of the Defendant’s insurer at an assessment of damages hearing in an asbestosis claim. On 24 November 2022, HHJ Blair KC (sitting as a Judge of the High Court), handed down his judgment arising…