Girl, 7, awarded £10m in damages from King’s College Hospital Trust – BBC News
‘A seven-year-old girl whose mind is “trapped in a body” that will not do as she wants has been awarded £10.1m.’
BBC News, 22nd January 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: personal injuries
Cost of PI claims dropping fast, actuaries confirm – Litigation Futures
‘Legal fees for personal injury cases worth up to £100,000 fell by 65% in 2013, with an overall reduction of 14% in the cost of third-party injury claims, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries has reported.’
Litigation Futures, 19th January 2015
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
General damages are not reduced because of age: the law set out with clarity – Zenith PI Blog
‘There are many reasons why personal injury litigators should read the decision of Judge Curran QC (sitting as a judge of the High Court) in Miller -v- Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust [2014] EWHC 3772 (QB). One of the reasons is the detailed analysis of the argument that damages for pain and suffering should automatically be reduced because of a claimant’s age. As the judgment shows age can be an aggravating factor, not a matter that leads to a reduction in the award.’
Zenith PI Blog, 17th January 2015
Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com
Criminal Acts and Compensation – Zenith PI Blog
‘The recent case of AB v Chief Constable of X Constabulary provided the High Court with an opportunity to review the doctrine of ex turpi causa and its application in personal injury cases.’
Zenith PI Blog, 15th January 2015
Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com
Whiplash Quantum Update – Zenith PI Blog
‘There are increasing numbers of post-April 2013 personal injury settlements being reported, many of which contain specific reference to the damages figure including the 10% uplift provided for by Simmons v Castle [2012] EWCA Civ 1288.’
Zenith PI Blog, 13th January 2015
Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com
Accidents abroad: The need for evidence of local standards – Zenith PI Blog
‘A holidaymaker who sustained personal injuries from slipping on a wet staircase in a hotel in Spain succeeded at first instance in a claim against the holiday operator. The Court of Appeal overturned the first instance decision where there had been no evidence of local standards of care and the judge had wrongly imposed an evidential burden of proof on the holiday company to prove it exercised reasonable care and skill in performance of the contract.’
Zenith PI Blog, 13th January 2015
Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com
THE REAL ADVANTAGES AND RISKS OF PART 36 – Zenith PI Blog
‘In Downing v Peterborough & Stamford NHS Foundation Trust [2014]EWHC 4216 (QB) heard by Sir David Eady on 12th December 2014 the Claimant received an additional £75,000 in damages after beating its own Part 36 offer.’
Zenith PI Blog, 5th January 2015
Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com
NHS trust fined £180,000 after patient suffers burns from overheated mattress – Local Government Lawyer
‘An NHS trust was fined £180,000 before Christmas after a patient suffered severe burns from a warming mattress.’
Local Government Lawyer, 6th January 2015
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
“Very much maligned” SARAH bill wins over sceptical peers – Litigation Futures
‘The government’s Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism (SARAH) Bill, described as “very much maligned” by justice minister Lord Faulks, has survived its report stage in the Lords, with only a minor government amendment.’
Litigation Futures, 16th December 2014
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Soho Theatre fined over fall that paralysed stage manager – BBC News
‘A theatre where a stage manager was paralysed in a fall through an unmarked balcony door on to the stage below has been fined £20,000.’
BBC News, 15th December 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Stage manager is awarded £3.7m compensation after being left paralysed – The Guardian
‘A stage manager for an award-winning theatre company, left paralysed after walking through an unmarked backstage door into “thin air” and falling three metres, has been awarded £3.7m in compensation, in one of the biggest payouts in the UK entertainment sector.’
The Guardian, 11th December 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Criminal Injury Compensation Authority (CICA)’s refusal of application for compensation arising out of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is endorsed by Court of Appeal : CP (A Child) v First Tier Tribunal (Criminal Injuries Compensation) – Zenith PI Blog
‘Yesterday the Court of Appeal gave a vote of confidence in CICA’s recent policy change on FASD inflicted injuries. The Court concluded that, as a foetus was not ‘any other person’ in the eyes of the criminal law, the mother’s damagingly excessive alcohol consumption was NOT an act of violence susceptible to compensation.
Zenith PI Blog, 9th December 2014
Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority v First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber) and another (British Pregnancy Advisory Service and Birthrights and another intervening) – WLR Daily
‘A mother who drank alcohol to excess while she was pregnant, resulting her child being born with permanent damage from foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, was not criminally liable for administering poison to “any other person” so as to inflict grievous bodily harm contrary to section 23 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. Because a foetus was not “any other person” for the purposes of section 23, and the harm had been inflicted on the child while she was in the womb, the child was not entitled to criminal injuries compensation.’
WLR Daily, 4th December 2014
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Bradford Lidl ‘slip’ fraudster Waheed Iqbal sentenced – BBC News
‘A man who deliberately “slipped” on a wet bag in a supermarket so he could make a £10,000 insurance claim has been given a suspended jail term.’
BBC News, 5th December 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Couple who faked son’s blindness for insurance claim are jailed – Daily Telegraph
‘Former soldier Jeremy Jones and his wife Sally Anne Jones are given 12 months in prison after claiming their son had been blinded in one eye falling off his bike.’
Daily Telegraph, 5th December 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Foetal alcohol damages case dismissed by Court of Appeal – BBC News
‘A child born with foetal alcohol syndrome is not legally entitled to compensation after her mother drank excessively while pregnant, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’
BBC News, 4th December 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
What does Duty of Candour mean for employers? – Cloisters
‘So far, commentators have focused on the interplay between clinical negligence law and the Duty of Candour. But the latest requirements also have important repercussions for those in regulated professions such as doctors and nurses and their employment relationships. In this article, we look at steps which employers should now consider in light of the new Duty of Candour.’
Cloisters, 1st December 2014
Source: www.cloisters.com
Non-accidental Injury and Re-balancing the Burden of Proof – Family Law Week
‘Dr John Fox, barrister of Lamb Building, reviews some recent cases which may suggest a re-consideration of the burden of proof in cases of alleged non-accidental injury.’
Family Law Week, 27th November 2014
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
Over the limit? – New Law Journal
‘Is the criminalisation of excessive alcohol consumption during pregnancy possible, asks David Locke.’
New Law Journal, 20th November 2014
Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk
QOCS “does not apply” to appeals in PI cases started pre-LASPO – Litigation Futures
‘Qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS) does not apply on appeal if it did not apply at first instance, Master Haworth has ruled in the Senior Court Costs Office.’
Litigation Futures, 24th November 2014
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
