Star Wars firm fined £1.6m over Harrison Ford injury – BBC News
‘A production company behind the latest Star Wars movie has been fined £1.6m ($2m) after Harrison Ford broke his leg on set.’
BBC News, 12th October 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: accidents
High Court calls for change in bereavement law to benefit cohabitees – The Guardian
‘Under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 those who live together but are not married are not entitled to damages for bereavement. The High Court has found that though this did not directly engage the right to family life and privacy under Article 8, the difference in treatment between cohabitees and those who were married or in a civil partnership could not be justified and consideration should be given to reforming the law.’
The Guardian, 21st September 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Mother is spared jail as judge says looking after her five-year-old daughter left paralysed by crash is ‘a greater punishment than any court could impose’ – Daily Telegraph
‘A mother who killed a great-gradmother and left her own five-year-old daughter paralysed in a head-on horror crash has escaped jail.’
Daily Telegraph, 27th August 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Lack of UK law requiring lifeguards on all beaches means ‘varied presence’ – The Guardian
‘After a number of water-related deaths in the past week, industry groups call for more safety information for beachgoers.’
The Guardian, 26th August 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
When it comes to unsettling settlements, everybody needs good neighbours: Hayward v Zurich Insurance Co [2016] EWCA Civ 327 – Park Square Barristers
‘On 27th July 2016 the Supreme Court handed down their Judgment in the case of Hayward. The case was concerned with whether or not a Defendant, who had settled a personal injury claim despite pleading that the same was exaggerated, could later seek to set aside that settlement on the basis that new evidence of fraud arose.’
Park Square Barristers, 12th August 2016
Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk
Woman gets £2m over near-drowning in school swimming lesson – The Guardian
‘A woman who won a judgment against her local authority after she nearly drowned during a school swimming lesson 16 years ago has been awarded £2m in compensation.’
The Guardian, 21st August 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
London woman dies in possibly the first drone-related accidental death – The Independent
‘A young woman died in a car crash Tuesday after her vehicle was followed by police investigating reports of a drone being flown near Wandsworth Prison in London. The incident may be the first fatality linked to the non-military use of drones.’
The Independent, 9th August 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Claimant wins credit hire argument over ‘super car’ – Litigation Futures
‘A claimant who drove a top-of-the-range Mercedes while his McLaren supercar was being repaired has recovered the cost of the credit hire, despite owning other high-spec vehicles, including two Aston Martins.’
Litigation Futures, 4th August 2016
Source: www.litigationfutures.co.uk
Tricky quantum case that grapples with PI claims involving multiple tortfeasers and disputes between experts – Cloisters
‘William Latimer-Sayer QC considers the case of XP V Compensa Towarzystwo SA v Przeyslaw Bejger [2016] EWHC 1728 (QB) in which Whipple J had to grapple with a number of tricky quantum issues.’
Cloisters, 25th July 2016
Source: www.cloisters.com
Blaming insurers for driverless accidents ‘makes no sense’ – Law Society’s Gazette
‘Government proposals for driverless cars could create a worrying principle in the law of negligence, a high-profile motoring solicitor has warned.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 16th July 2016
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Inebriated pedestrians: a fresh view on foreseeability and novus actus interveniens – Zenith PI Blog
‘A consideration of the Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Scott v Gavigan [2016] EWCA Civ 544 before Elias LJ, Clarke LJ and Simon LJ.’
Zenith PI Blog, 22nd June 2016
Source: www.zenithpiwordpress.com
Skip hire firm boss jailed for injuring 21 people when his Mercedes careered into charity ball marquee – Daily Telegraph
‘A wealthy businessman who drunkenly ploughed his new Mercedes into a marquee at a charity ball injuring 21 people has been jailed for more than a year.’
Daily Telegraph, 10th June 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Staffordshire County Council v K and others – WLR Daily
Staffordshire County Council v K and others [2016] EWCOP 27
‘An incapacitated adult (“K”), who had been severely injured in a road traffic accident, was awarded substantial damages in court proceedings which were used by his property and affairs deputy, a private trust corporation, to provide a specially adapted residence and to fund the regime of care and support provided by private sector providers. The local authority, having been informed of the arrangements for K’s care and the arrangements having been registered with the Care Quality Commission, applied to the Court of Protection for a welfare order under section 16 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The parties accepted that the arrangements constituted a deprivation of liberty satisfying two of three components of a deprivation of liberty within article 5 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, but the Secretary of State contended that the third component, namely the attribution of responsibility to the state, did not apply to the privately funded and arranged care regime (and to others in an equivalent position), so that the care regime could lawfully be put in place without a welfare order being made under the Act.’
WLR Daily, 25th May 2016
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Drug driving: Almost 8,000 arrests in England and Wales – BBC News
‘There were almost 8,000 arrests last year for drug driving in England and Wales, figures obtained by BBC Radio 5 live have suggested.’
BBC News, 1st June 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
If you’re going to go down a steep slope, make sure you do it on your bottom! – Zenith PI Blog
‘In a decision handed down last week in English Heritage v Taylor [2016] EWCA Civ 448 the Court of Appeal upheld a first instance decision of a finding of breach of duty under section 2 of the Occupier’s Liability Act 1957 and a finding of 50% contributory negligence against the claimant. The issues centred around what was an obvious danger.’
Zenith PI Blog, 20th May 2016
Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com
Hillsborough inquest timeline: the long wait for justice – The Guardian
‘The families of the 96 people fatally injured at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final have been fighting for the truth for 27 years.’
The Guardian, 26th April 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Credit Hire – Defendant Entitled To Summary Judgment When Claimant Could Not Establish Need – Zenith PI Blog
‘HHJ Armstrong refused the Claimant’s application for permission to appeal the decision of District Judge Read that the Defendant was entitled to summary judgment when the Claimant could not establish need in relation to a vehicle he had hired.’
Zenith PI Blog, 27th April 2016
Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com
Claim against MIB does not have protection of QOCS, High Court rules – Litigation Futures
‘A claim against the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) by the victim of an accident in France does not have the protection of qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS), the High Court has ruled.
Litigation Futures, 26th April 2016
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Key evidence missing’ from police investigation into Shoreham air show, inquest reveals – Daily Telegraph
‘The police investigation into the plane crash at the Shoreham Airshow – which killed 11 people – is being delayed as detectives are being forced to seek permission from the courts to gain access to key information from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), a pre-inquest review has heard.’
Daily Telegraph, 22nd March 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Damages in Fatal Accidents Claims: Supreme Court decision as to proper basis for calculations of future loss – Henderson Chambers
‘In Knauer (Widower and Administrator of the Estate of Sally Ann Knaur) v Ministry of Justice [2016] UKSC 9, the Supreme Court has held that the correct date as at which to assess the multiplier when fixing damages for future loss in claims under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 should be the date of trial and not the date of death. In doing so it refused to follow two decisions of the House of Lords (Cookson v Knowles [1979] AC 556 and Graham v Dodds [1983] 1 WLR 808) pursuant to which the relevant date had been the date of death.’
Henderson Chambers, February 2016
Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk
