Personal Injury Blogs Archive

Two important recent cases have grappled with the issue of how qualified one-way costs shifting (“QOCS”) affects the situation where a defendant’s offer is belatedly accepted. Can the defendant enforce a costs order against the settlement sum? The issue arises because the core QOCS provision, CPR 44.14, as it presently stands is worded as follows:…

Ex turpi causa non oritur actio literally translates to ‘the action does not arise from a shameful cause’. In other words, as stated by Lord Mansfield CJ in Holman v Johnson (1775) 1 Cowp 341, 343: “no court will lend its aid to a man who founds his cause of action upon an immoral or an illegal act”.…

The last 12 months have seen political and economic changes which would have been hard to imagine even a few years ago. Everyone will have their own views of how we have got into this position but this short blog focuses on how this turmoil might affect presentation and resolution of personal injury claims. Interest…

The past decade has seen incremental expansion in the scope of the duty of care imposed on public authorities, from the imposition of vicarious liability in Armes v Nottingham City Council [2018] AC 355 to the confirmation that there is no public interest special immunity for police in Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2018] AC 736.…

In another step forward, the use of Instrumented Mouthguards (iMGs) is being included by the RFU in their mission to reduce players’ risk of concussion.  Following research across the 2020/21 season using Harlequins and other men’s and women’s top tier teams, iMGs are to be offered to all elite English teams this season. The RFU,…

The passing of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (‘ERRA’) was anticipated to have a profound impact on the way in which employer’s liability claims were litigated. The effect of section 69 was to remove civil liability for breaches of the variety of health and safety regulations which imposed strict liability on employers to…

Both s. 13 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (“DPA 98”) and Art. 82 of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) provide an individual with a right to compensation where she suffers material or non-material damage (including distress) – see Google Inc v Vidal-Hall [2015] EWCA Civ 311 and s. 168 of the Data Protection Act 2018…

Benjamin Franklin held that death, along with taxes, were the only certainties. When the former occurs after a cause of action in a personal injury claim has arisen there will be consequences for that claim. When a person who is, or was intended to be, a party to a personal injury claim dies (so we…

Prior to the introduction of s. 57 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (CJCA 2015), the court would disallow the dishonest elements but allow the honest elements of the claim. However, in the course of three short years (during which the decision in Summers v Fairclough Homes [2012] 1 WLR 2004 was handed down,…

Service of an Unsealed Claim Form Ideal Shopping Direct Limited & Ors v Mastercard Inc & Ors [2022] 1 WLR 1541 The sealing of court documents is governed by CPR 2: 2.6       (1) The court must seal the following documents on issue – (a) the claim form; and (b) any other document which a rule or…

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 explore some of the common errors and pitfalls…

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 past. Mr Hoyle sadly died at the scene. A claim under the Fatal Accidents…