‘Only a small minority of courts in England, Wales and Scotland are accessible to wheelchair users, research by a London personal injury firm has found.’
Litigation Futures, 19th November 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘This was the first time that the Court of Protection had been asked to identify the relevant specific decisions that GP had to be able to make in relation to the aforementioned issues within the meaning of s3(1) and 15(1)(a) of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (“the 2005 Act”) and to consider what the relevant information in respect of each of those decisions was that GP must have been able to understand, retain, use or weigh in accordance with s3(1) of the 2005 Act.’
3PB, November 2020
Source: www.3pb.co.uk
‘HHJ Saunders at Central London County Court found the decision of LB Waltham Forest unlawful on a number of grounds.’
Garden Court Chambers, 5th November 2020
Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk
‘Employees that suffer from a disability so defined are protected against various forms of discrimination because of that status. Employers facing claims of such discrimination must assess whether a Tribunal will find that the employee was in fact, during the relevant period, disabled and, if so, whether it knew or reasonably ought to have known of that fact. It is common for employers to concede the fact of disability.’
Parklane Plowden Chambers, 4th November 2020
Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk
‘Every 15 minutes, on average, a patient with learning disabilities was restrained in hospital last year, new BBC File on 4 analysis shows.’
BBC News, 10th November 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘In Swift v Carpenter [2018] EWHC 2060 (QB) the claimant, aged 39, had suffered serious lower-limb injuries in a road traffic accident. Liability was agreed and in 2018 the quantum assessment came before Mrs Justice Lambert in the High Court, who made awards on various heads of claim. The final issue for consideration was a claim for special accommodation. It was agreed by the parties that the claimant required a new house, given her injuries, and that it was reasonable that she move. Lambert J set the extra cost of the proposed special accommodation at £900,000.’
Law Society's Gazette, 9th November 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Twenty-five years ago the Disability Discrimination Act was passed, a landmark piece of legislation which ensured, for the first time, that disabled people had civil rights.’
BBC News, 8th November 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Employment tribunals may in future need to recognise that homeworking has become an established “reasonable adjustment” to working practices for disabled people, including lawyers, a webinar heard last week.’
Legal Futures, 9th November 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘It’s 25 years since the Disability Discrimination Act became law, but the campaign for equality goes on.’
BBC News, 9th November 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The family of a severely mentally ill woman who died after being without disability benefits for several months have accused the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of failing to safeguard her.’
The Guardian, 5th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Her Honour Judge Hilder has given judgment in ACC & Others [2020] EWCOP 9, a test case which concerns the circumstances in which deputies must seek authority to litigate on behalf of P and other considerations such as managing conflicts where a professional deputy proposes to instruct its own firm in the litigation.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 26th October 2020
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has set out seven lessons for judges and practitioners in cases where urgent applications without notice are made, after concluding that a disabled man had his human rights breached.’
Local Government Lawyer, 29th October 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A visually impaired man did not have the help he needed for 14 months after Westminster City Council reduced his support package, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has said.’
Local Government Lawyer, 22nd October 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Described as “a most unusual case”, the Family Court at the Royal Courts of Justice recently dismissed a forty-one-year-old son’s claim that the “bank of mum and dad” was legally obligated to maintain him. Most court orders for the payment of maintenance of children provide for that obligation to end at the age of 18 or upon the child leaving school. The courts retain jurisdiction to make or vary orders for maintenance of children in limited circumstances, including where there is already a court order in force, to meet expenses in connection with education or training for a trade, profession or vocation, and where the child has expenses attributable to a disability. In FS v RS and JS [2020] EWFC 63, Sir James Munby considered whether the court had jurisdiction in relation to claims under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and the Children Act 1989 and whether jurisdiction under the inherent jurisdiction could be exercised as the Applicant asserted. This is an overview of Munby J’s remarkable judgment in light of an unprecedented proposition upon the court’s traditionally paternal or parental character.’
Transparency Project, 19th October 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘The number of racially or religiously aggravated offences in England and Wales rose in June and July, most likely linked to Black Lives Matters rallies and far-right counter-protests, the Home Office has said.’
The Guardian, 13th October 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The family of a disabled woman who died trapped in Grenfell Tower is taking legal action against the government to force high-rise owners to make evacuation plans for every disabled resident. Sakina Afrasehabi, who had severe arthritis and walked with a frame, died on the 18th floor in the June 2017 blaze at the age of 65. Now her family want a judicial review of government proposals, arising from the disaster, that personal evacuation plans should only apply for people in buildings considered at immediate fire risk.’
The Guardian, 5th October 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The suspension of office working under lockdown has helped improve the mental and physical health of disabled lawyers, research has indicated.’
Legal Futures, 2nd October 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘A 41-year-old man has failed in a legal bid to force his wealthy parents to continue financially supporting him.’
BBC News, 30th September 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A homeless father of four with disabilities who was refused the chance to rent a private flat because he fell foul of the estate agents’ “no DSS” rules was unlawfully discriminated against, a court has ruled.’
The Guardian, 9th September 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Grammar schools in England will have to ensure their 11-plus entrance exams are accessible to disabled pupils, after a legal ruling found a visually impaired child suffered discrimination when he was refused the opportunity to take the exam.’
The Guardian, 9th September 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
© Inner Temple Library 2020