Current Awareness » negligence

Iraq damages cases: Supreme Court rules families can sue – BBC News

sally — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:59:46 +0000

“The families of soldiers killed in Iraq can pursue damages against the government under the Human Rights Act, the Supreme Court has ruled.”

Full story

BBC News, 19th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Mother sues lawyer for £15m over ‘millions lost’ in divorce – Daily Telegraph

sally — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:55:51 +0000

“A mother is suing her former solicitor for £15 million, claiming that his poor advice cost her millions of pounds in a divorce settlement.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 18th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Iraq damages cases: Supreme Court judges to rule – BBC News

sally — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:09:57 +0000

“Supreme Court judges will rule later on whether relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq can sue the government for damages under the Human Rights Act.”

Full story

BBC News, 19th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Woman loses baby after acne drug wrongly prescribed – BBC News

tracey — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 11:46:43 +0000

“A hospital has paid an undisclosed amount after a pregnant woman was given acne drugs that caused her unborn baby severe abnormalities.”

Full story

BBC News, 11th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Pregnant mother died on operating table after trainees removed ovary by mistake – Daily Telegraph

tracey — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 09:04:16 +0000

“A heavily pregnant mother died on the operating table after two unsupervised trainee surgeons removed one of her ovaries instead of her appendix by mistake.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 10th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Police launch inquiry into hundreds of Stafford hospital deaths – The Guardian

tracey — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 08:52:11 +0000

“Hundreds of deaths at Stafford hospital are being examined by police after a review identified 200 to 300 cases where neglect might have been a contributory factor. Following the publication of the Francis report into serious care failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS foundation trust, police, medical regulators and prosecutors launched a multi-agency review to establish whether any criminal offences were committed.”

Full story

The Guardian, 10th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Man sues over forensics live bullet conviction mix-up – BBC News

tracey — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:28:28 +0000

“A man wrongfully convicted of possessing ammunition after forensics staff mixed
up his £3 keyring and a live bullet is suing the government.”

Full story

BBC News, 7th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Woman sues lawyer whose failure to change a relative’s will ‘cost her £1m’ – Daily Telegraph

tracey — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 08:18:30 +0000

“Woman sues lawyer whose failure to change a relative’s will ‘cost her £1m.’ ”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 6th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Leicester Royal Infirmary sorry over 100-year-old’s death – BBC News

sally — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 15:24:47 +0000

“A ‘catastrophic error’ led to a 100-year-old great-grandmother dying from dehydration, a hospital has admitted.”

Full story

BBC News, 5th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘New law needed’ after collapse of care home neglect case – BBC News

sally — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 09:01:21 +0000

“The collapse of Britain’s biggest investigation into elderly care home neglect has prompted calls for a reform of the law.”

Full story

BBC News, 4th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

He who hesitates is lost – New Law Journal

sally — Fri, 31 May 2013 10:52:31 +0000

“Jonathan Aspinall reports from the Court of Appeal on hesitation, liability and costs.”

Full story

New Law Journal, 30th May 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Abdel Hakim Belhaj torture case may be heard in secret court – The Guardian

sally — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:44:43 +0000

“One of the first cases to be heard by the government’s new generation of secret courts may be a claim brought by a Libyan dissident who was kidnapped along with his pregnant wife and flown to one of Muammar Gaddafi’s prisons.”

Full story

The Guardian, 21st May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Joyce v O’Brien and another – WLR Daily

sally — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:34:22 +0000

Joyce v O’Brien and another [2013] EWCA Civ 546; [2013] WLR (D) 182

“Where the character of a joint criminal enterprise was such that it was foreseeable that a party or parties might be subject to unusual or increased risks of harm as a consequence of the activities of the parties in pursuance of their criminal objectives, and the risk materialised, the harm could properly be said to have been caused by the criminal act of the party suffering it even if it resulted from the negligent or intentional act of another party to the criminal enterprise. Therefore, in such circumstances the principle of ex turpi causa non oritur actio would provide the negligent party with a defence to a claim for negligence by the injured party.”

WLR Daily, 17th May 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Widower to receive £150,000 payout linked to wife’s death in Oxfordshire – BBC News

sally — Thu, 16 May 2013 08:11:35 +0000

“A widower left with brain damage from alcohol abuse linked to the shock of his wife’s sudden death is to receive a £150,000 payout from the NHS.”

Full story

BBC News, 15th May 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Supreme Court ruling on trustee mistakes “likely to create uncertainty”, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

tracey — Mon, 13 May 2013 09:59:02 +0000

“A Supreme Court ruling on the circumstances in which courts can set aside decisions made wrongly by trustees is ‘likely to create uncertainty’ due to the subjective nature of the test, an expert has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 10th May 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Inquiry into CofE cleric abuse claim set up – BBC News

tracey — Mon, 13 May 2013 08:45:06 +0000

“Archbishop of York John Sentamu is setting up an independent inquiry into allegations of sexual abuse made against a Church of England cleric.”

Full story

BBC News, 12th may 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Teachers accused: 4 recent cases – Education Law Blog

tracey — Fri, 03 May 2013 09:21:44 +0000

“The following 4 recent cases all share the broad theme of claims or accusations against teachers.”

Full story

Education Law Blog, 1st May 2013

Source: www.education11kbw.com

Paul Ridd inquest: NHS neglect ‘contributed to death’ – BBC News

tracey — Fri, 03 May 2013 09:13:04 +0000

“A man with severe learning difficulties died from natural causes contributed to by neglect at a Swansea hospital, a coroner has ruled.”

Full story

BBC News, 2nd May 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Every picture tells a story – Hardwicke Chambers

sally — Thu, 02 May 2013 08:03:52 +0000

“Jamie Clarke interviews expert clinical photographer and proprietor of Clinical Photography UK, Tim Zoltie on the use of photography in personal injury and clinical negligence claims.”

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 24th April 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

It wasn’t my fault! Contributory negligence through the actions of others – Hardwicke Chambers

sally — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 10:09:42 +0000

“An unresolved issue that has received little attention is whether a solicitor’s conduct could be attributed to his client as contributory negligence by that client in a claim brought against a different professional. If a claimant sues professional A for losses to which professional B also contributed, the normal course of events is for professional A to make a contribution claim against professional B. Professional A does not usually seek to attribute professional B’s conduct to the claimant in order to raise the defence of contributory negligence against the claimant. But it is easy to imagine circumstances in which the latter course would be attractive to professional A if available, for example if professional B is a man of straw whose insurers repudiate liability.”

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 2nd April 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Compensation culture: Fact or fantasy? – Speech by the Master of the Rolls

tracey — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:22:19 +0000

“In my Presidential address I want to examine ‘compensation culture’. This I imagine is something with which W. S. Holdsworth, notwithstanding his truly encyclopaedic knowledge of English law, would have been unfamiliar. We can let him off though. The term was apparently not coined until 1993; when it first appeared in The Times newspaper in an article by Bernard Levin entitled Addicted to welfare.”

Full speech

Judiciary of England and Wales, 15th March 2013

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Taylor and another v A Novo (UK) Ltd – WLR Daily

sally — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 09:42:46 +0000

Taylor and another v A Novo (UK) Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 194; [2013] WLR (D) 119

“A person who suffered psychiatric illness (post-traumatic stress disorder), after witnessing the sudden collapse and death of her mother who had been injured at work by the admitted negligence of the defendant employer some three weeks earlier, did not have a right of action as a secondary victim for damages against the defendant, since there was an insufficient relationship of proximity between the person suffering the psychiatric illness and the defendant.”

WLR Daily, 18th March 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Legal action over Furness General Hospital deaths – BBC News

tracey — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 10:19:29 +0000

“More than 30 families have taken legal action against a hospital in north-west
England for a catalogue of baby and maternal deaths and injuries.”

Full story

BBC News, 15th March 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Fine tuning medical diagnoses to rare genetic disorders – UK Human Rights Blog

sally — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:34:25 +0000

“There is no doubt that medical diagnosis and therapy are struggling to keep pace with the genetic information pouring out of the laboratories and sequencing centres. And the issue of medical liability is being stretched on the rack between conventional treatment and the potential for personalised therapy. Treatment of disease often turns out to be different, depending on which gene mutation has triggered the disorder. However fine tuned the diagnosis, it may turn out to be profoundly wrong in the light of subsequent discoveries.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 9th March 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

“Frantic” firms creating hump of CFA cases that will take years to clear, says QC – Litigation Futures

tracey — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 10:49:51 +0000

“The 1 April Jackson reforms start date is creating a ‘hump’ of conditional fee agreement (CFA) cases that will take years to clear the courts, a leading clinical negligence barrister has predicted.”

Full story

Litigation Futures, 7th March 2013

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Mother fights to reopen case of brain-damaged baby – The Guardian

sally — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 09:47:46 +0000

“NHS blunders left her newborn baby seriously brain damaged, and two and a half years later Andrea Duggan is still angry that no member of staff has been brought to book.”

Full story

The Guardian, 6th March 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Report into surgeon Rob Jones reveals a ‘catalogue of failures’ – BBC News

tracey — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 10:23:20 +0000

“A surgeon was allowed to continue practising despite concerns over his ability,
a report has found.”

Full story

BBC News, 28th February 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Police consider bringing criminal charges against Stafford hospital staff – The Guardian

sally — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 10:28:50 +0000

“Police and prosecutors are studying a damning report into ‘appalling’ failures of care at an NHS hospital where hundreds of patients needlessly died, to examine whether any criminal charges need to be brought against those involved.”

Full story

The Guardian, 15th February 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

‘Not up to standard’: 25% of care agencies providing services to people in their homes are failing – The Independent

sally — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:06:42 +0000

“A quarter of agencies that provide care to people in their own homes do not meet all five national standards of quality and safety, regulators said.”

Full story

The Independent, 13th February 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Probe into ‘high death rate’ hospitals extended – BBC News

tracey — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:06:05 +0000

“Another nine hospital trusts are to be investigated for high death rates in the
wake of the damning report on the NHS over its handling of the Stafford Hospital
scandal.”

Full story

BBC News, 11th February 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Nurse spared jail for killing baby in botched circumcision – BBC News

sally — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 09:35:56 +0000

“A nurse who caused the death of a baby in a botched home circumcision has been spared jail.”

Full story

BBC News, 8th February 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Surveying the Landscape: Recent Negligent Valuation Claims – Littleton Chambers

sally — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:59:46 +0000

In the backwash of this recession the Courts are revisiting territory familiar from previous recessions – claims against valuers and mortgagees exercising powers of sale.

Full story

Littleton Chambers, 4th February 2013

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

Romford and Eastbourne hospitals dragged in to NHS care scandal – Daily Telegraph

sally — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:15:38 +0000

“Two more hospitals were dragged into the NHS care scandal today as it emerged that 18 families were taking legal action on the grounds that their loved ones had suffered neglect and negligence.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 7th February 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Robert Francis QC: hundreds were subjected to ‘appalling and unnecessary suffering’ – video – The Guardian

sally — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:45:21 +0000

“Robert Francis QC speaks to the media following the release of his report into the Mid Staffordshire NHS trust scandal, in which between 400 to 1,200 people died as a result of inadequate care. Francis makes 290 recommendations in the report. He says that many were failed by a system that put ‘corporate self-interest’ ahead of patients and their safety.”

Video

The Guardian, 6th February 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

May Lewis Cardiff lift death: Unlawful killing verdict – BBC News

tracey — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 10:27:39 +0000

“An inquest jury has returned a verdict of unlawful killing on a 96-year-old woman in a wheelchair who died in a lift shaft fall.”

Full story

BBC News, 1st February 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Corporate manslaughter cases up by 40% in 2012 – OUT-LAW.com

sally — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:44:22 +0000

“The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) began investigating 40% more corporate manslaughter cases in 2012 than it did the previous year according to figures obtained by Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 30th January 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Deferred Prosecution Agreements – Sir Anthony Hooper, Former Lord Justice of Appeal – Fulcrum Chambers

sally — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 09:19:44 +0000

“Since the early 90s US prosecuting authorities have been using deferred prosecution agreements. They are said to raise about $2.5bn a year in penalties, often in respect of criminal activities with little connection to the US. A deferred prosecution agreements involves the filing in court of agreed charges against a corporation, subject to a condition that the charges will not be pursued if the corporation complies with the often stringent terms of the agreement for a specified period. Such terms will include the payment of substantial sums to reflect broadly the fine that would have been paid had the corporation pleaded guilty and to reflect the confiscation and compensation regimes. Corporations are likely also to have to agree to the appointment of a monitor to ensure their adherence to proper standards of behaviour.”

Full story

Fulcrum Chambers, January 2013

Source: www.fulcrumchambers.com

Milton Keynes Borough Council v Nulty, decd and others – WLR Daily

sally — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 11:02:58 +0000

Milton Keynes Borough Council v Nulty, decd and others [2013] EWCA Civ 15; [2013] WLR (D) 25

“There was no rule of law that if the only other possible causes of an event were very much less likely than one suggested means of causation, that became the probable cause; the court had to be satisfied on rational and objective grounds that the case for believing that the suggested means of causation occurred was stronger than the case for not so believing.”

WLR Daily, 24th January 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Thames Water Utilities Ltd v Transport for London – WLR Daily

sally — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:41:00 +0000

Thames Water Utilities Ltd v Transport for London [2013] WLR (D) 15

“On the plain construction of regulation 19 of the Traffic Management Permit Scheme (England) Regulations 2007 a statutory undertaker could not avoid a criminal sanction where a person contracted to act on its behalf to undertake specified works in a specified street did so without a permit.”

WLR Daily, 17th January 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Judge rejects claim couple were ‘ruined’ by Barclays – Daily Telegraph

sally — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 10:18:04 +0000

“A millionaire property developer and his wife who claimed they were brought to complete ruination by a simple banking error have lost their High Court claim for more than £3 million in damages.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 15th January 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Boy left brain damaged at birth wins £7.1m compensation – The Guardian

sally — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 09:29:04 +0000

“A teenage boy who was left brain-damaged at birth has been awarded £7.1m damages after a 14-year legal battle by his mother against the hospital responsible.”

Full story

The Guardian, 9th January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Ken Clarke fails to rule out need for secret courts in MoD cases – The Guardian

sally — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 10:56:21 +0000

“Secret court hearings could be used when the families of soldiers who die as a result of Ministry of Defence failures pursue compensation claims, the minister responsible for the justice and security bill has admitted.”

Full story

The Guardian, 18th December 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Family sues out-of-hours GP provider and nurse over death liability – The Guardian

sally — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 09:34:25 +0000

“The family of a young woman is suing the country’s biggest out-of-hours GP provider and one of its nurses, whose failures meant her fatal condition was not diagnosed, because neither will accept liability in a test case over legal responsibility in a privatised NHS.”

Full story

The Guardian, 17th December 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Gap in the UK’s law on cycling? – BBC News

sally — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:45:32 +0000

“A driver opens his car door. There’s a collision with a cyclist. Is this a criminal act?”

Full story

BBC News, 15th December 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Nurse guilty of manslaughter of baby who bled to death after botched home circumcision – Daily Telegraph

sally — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 09:53:04 +0000

“A nurse has been found guilty of the manslaughter of a four-week-old baby who bled to death after a botched home circumcision.”

Full story

The Independent, 14th December 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

The duty of care of Public Authorities: Too Much, Too Little or About Right? – Speech by Master of the Rolls

sally — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 10:45:05 +0000

The duty of care of Public Authorities: Too Much, Too Little or About Right? (PDF)

Speech by Master of the Rolls

PIBA Richard Davies Lecture, 27th November 2012

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Addenbrooke’s Hospital payout as equipment left in patient – BBC News

sally — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:45:05 +0000

“A hospital has apologised and paid £7,000 in compensation to a man who had surgical equipment left inside him following an operation.”

Full story

BBC News, 5th December 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Drawing the Fault Line: Multiple Tortfeasors and Intervening Acts – Cloisters

sally — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 10:33:03 +0000

“It is not uncommon for a potential personal injury or clinical negligence claimant to have been subjected to a series of events that may all be linked to causation of his injury – we’ve all met the unfortunate client for whom nothing seems to go right. Sometimes the events will be the acts of third parties, which
may or may not be tortious; at other times, the individual’s own actions may have played a part in the causation of his injuries. The third party acts may involve personal injury, or clinical negligence, or even assault. In such circumstances, there may be multiple potential defendants to any legal claim
and serious thought needs to be given to the question of whom to claim against, to avoid potential adverse costs consequences from bringing proceedings against the wrong, or too many, defendant(s) or – worse – failing to sue the tortfeasor ultimately found to be primarily or even solely responsible for the claimant’s losses.”

Full story (PDF)

Cloisters, November 2012

Source: www.cloisters.com

Regina v Nursing – WLR Daily

sally — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:42:36 +0000

Regina v Nursing [2012] EWCA Crim 2521; [2012] WLR (D) 360

“The offence of wilfully neglecting a person who lacked capacity, contrary to section 44(2) of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, was not legally uncertain. Neglect was not wilful if a defendant’s acts or omissions were or might have been motivated by the wish or sense of obligation to respect the autonomy of the person concerned.”

WLR Daily, 30th November 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Former spy Mark Kennedy sues police for ‘failing to stop him falling in love’ – The Guardian

sally — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 11:18:06 +0000

“A former spy is suing the Metropolitan police for failing to ‘protect’ him from falling in love with one of the environmental activists whose movement he infiltrated.”

Full story

The Guardian, 25th November 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk