Disease Blogs Archive

Jack McCracken and Sarah Hopkinson revisit the question of liability for COVID-19 infections, this time from an American perspective. In May 2020, we published a series of five articles exploring the potential liability of employers arising from exposure of employees to COVID-19. Whilst it is unlikely that any claims arising out of exposure to COVID-19 have yet been…

Last month nothing happened and that matters. The International Conference on Concussion in Sport (organised by the Concussion in Sport Group) is a key meeting at which, on a broadly quadrennial basis, a group of approximately 40 experts explore and review the developments in sports related concussion injuries. The 6th Conference was due to take…

In Hamilton v NG Bailey Ltd [2020] EWHC 2910 (QB), the High Court sought clarity from the editors of the Judicial College Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases (the “JC Guidelines”) about their proper application in asbestosis and pleural thickening cases. Richard Seabrook of Ropewalk Chambers appeared for the Defendant. The judgment…

A peer-reviewed study published on 21 October 2020 by academics from the University of Sheffield suggests that workers exposed to diesel fumes or who undertake plumbing, gas fitting, ventilation and welding work may be more likely to suffer from high-grade and high-stage bladder cancers. This finding, albeit from a small-scale study that requires validation, is of…

Following our recent success in the Legal 500 2021, Chambers’ expertise in the field of industrial disease has again been acknowledged in the latest edition of Chambers & Partners. We are one of only four sets across all circuits to be ranked for Industrial Disease work. Jayne Adams QC and Patrick Limb QC are also individually ranked. The…

When considering claims against parent companies, a useful starting-point is the digest provided by Sales LJ (as he then was) in AAA v Unilever plc [2018] BCC 959 at [36]: “There is no special doctrine in the law of tort of legal responsibility on the part of a parent company in relation to the activities…

Even during the strange times of this pandemic, there has been a persistent desire to ensure that awareness of asbestos risks is maintained. There is no doubt, however, that the pandemic has curtailed those endeavours. Large sections of the workforce have been placed on furlough and redundancies may well follow.  It was thus unsurprising to see, in…

On 2 October 2020, the American Food & Drug Administration approved a combination of nivolumab (OPDIVO, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co) and ipilimumab (YERVOY, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co) as a first-line treatment for adults with unresectable mesothelioma. Randomised open-label trials suggest an improvement in overall survival in the order of approximately 25% when compared with chemotherapy. The full announcement is…

In Hinson v Hare Realizations Ltd [2020] EWHC 2386 (QB), the High Court reaffirmed the factors relevant to an application to abandon a single joint expert report and rely on one’s own expert evidence. To read the judgment, please click here. Background The Claimant claimed that in the 1970s and 1980s, while working in a…

Chambers’ expertise in the field of industrial disease has been acknowledged in the latest edition of the Legal 500. Along with our description as a “go-to” set for industrial disease, Jayne Adams QC and Patrick Limb QC‘s appearance in the country’s first beryllium poisoning case is expressly cited, as is Richard Gregory‘s heavy NIHL workload. The full…

Practice Direction 3D provides for an expedited system of civil procedure to be applied to claims for damages for mesothelioma. In practice it is now applied by the High Court Masters to all asbestos claims. One of its significant innovations is the “Show Cause” procedure. In this article, Philip Turton examines the rules which apply…

The High Court has handed down judgment in the case of Holmes v S & B Concrete Ltd [2020] EWHC 2277 (QB), holding that a Claimant bringing a claim for personal injury cannot generally rely upon the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 to avoid a limitation defence. To read the  judgment, please click here. Defendant insurers responding…