“Hopelessly complicated” whiplash portal guide slammed – Legal Futures

‘The 64-page users guide for litigants in person navigating the new Official Injury Claim portal has been strongly criticised by a leading academic for being “hopelessly complicated”.’

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Legal Futures, 13th May 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Proving The Driver Isn’t Always At Fault – Old Square Chambers

‘Caroline Hall of DAC Beachcroft provides this case summary (via the DAC Beachcroft website) in the case of Vincent v Walker [2021] EWHC 536 (QB). Caroline, instructed by Mike Green at Zurich Insurance on behalf of the defendant driver successfully defended a claim brought by an injured pedestrian.’

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Old Square Chambers, 23rd March 2021

Source: oldsquare.co.uk

Street Space and Taxis During the COVID-19 Pandemic – City Law Forum

Posted April 15th, 2021 in coronavirus, London, news, road traffic, taxis by sally

‘The taxi or black cab has from time immemorial been part of the London transport scene. They are permitted to use all available road space, including bus lanes. The current pandemic has motivated the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) to create a policy resulting in traffic plan and traffic orders limiting the amount of road space available for vehicles. The result of these orders has been to restrict taxis from using road space (including bus lanes) in two areas of central London that were previously available to them.’

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City Law Forum, 14th April 2021

Source: blogs.city.ac.uk

The New SCT RTA Protocol & Whiplash Regulations – 12 King’s Bench Walk

‘Details of the new SCT RTA Protocol[1] (“the Protocol”) which sits alongside the new whiplash tariff, as set out in The Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 (“the Whiplash Regulations”) were announced at the end of February. They will come into force, alongside the accompanying changes to the Civil Procedure Rules, on 31 May 2021.’

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12 King's Bench Walk, 3rd March 2021

Source: www.12kbw.co.uk

Government reveals long-awaited whiplash rules and tariffs – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The government has confirmed that legislation paving the way for whiplash reforms will come into force from 31 May. Newly-published draft statutory instruments have also finally indicated the tariff levels at which damages will be set for soft tissue injuries suffered in road traffic accidents.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 26th February 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Suspended sentence for fraudster who created bogus claims company – Litigation Futures

Posted February 25th, 2021 in accidents, claims management, fraud, news, road traffic, sentencing, suspended sentences by sally

‘A fraudster who faked a road traffic accident and invented a fictitious accident management company to facilitate a whiplash claim has been handed a suspended prison sentence.’

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Litigation Futures, 24th February 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Harry Dunn’s family can appeal against High Court ruling – BBC News

‘The parents of Harry Dunn have been granted permission to appeal against a High Court ruling over the diplomatic immunity of his alleged killer.’

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BBC News, 3rd December 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Landmark inquest to rule if air pollution killed London pupil – The Guardian

‘An inquest is to consider evidence that illegal levels of air pollution caused the death of a nine-year-old girl, in a landmark legal case. A coroner will be asked to rule that toxic levels of nitrogen dioxide, from the South Circular road in south London, led to the acute asthma attack that killed the primary school pupil, Ella Kissi-Debrah. Her mother, Rosamund, a former teacher, has fought for years for an inquiry into the role of air pollution from traffic in Ella’s death.’

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The Guardian, 30th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

The Cautionary tale of the postman, the application for relief and not enough money? Diriye v Bojaj [2020] EWCA Civ 1400 – Park Square Barristers

‘This credit hire appeal case was heard in the Court Of Appeal on 15 October 2020 with judgment being handed down on 4 November. It was heard by Lord Justice Coulson who gave the leading judgment, Lady Justice Davies and Lady Justice Rose agreeing.’

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Park Square Barristers, 13th November 2020

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Diriye v Bojaj [2020] EWCA Civ 1400: ‘Signed For’ deliveries and deemed service – Littleton Chambers

‘In Diriye v Bojaj [2020] EWCA Civ 1400, the Court of Appeal handed down an important judgment clarifying the scope of the deemed service provisions in CPR 6.26 in the context of signed for deliveries. The Court held that a “Signed For 1st Class” delivery would still be deemed served “on the second day after it was posted” in accordance with CPR 6.26, regardless of the date on which it was actually signed for and received.’

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Littleton Chambers, 11th November 2020

Source: littletonchambers.com

A Costly Lesson? A discussion of the decision in Belsner v Cam Legal Services Limited [2020] EWHC 2755 (QB) – Parklane Plowden Chambers

‘Lavender J has held that solicitors cannot rely upon CPR 46.9(2) to recover more from a client than could have been recovered between parties in the proceedings, unless they can show that the client provided informed consent. The decision potentially has far-reaching consequences for the use of conditional fee agreements (“CFAs”).’

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Parklane Plowden Chambers, 20th November 2020

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

Still no rules but full steam to April for whiplash reforms, says MoJ – Legal Futures

‘Ministers remain “determined” to implement the whiplash reforms next April, a top Ministry of Justice (MoJ) official confirmed yesterday, although it is still not certain when the rules governing the process will be published.’

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Legal Futures, 24th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Rashid v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2020] EWHC 2522 (QB), [2020] All ER (D) 02 (Oct) – Parklane Plowden Chambers

Posted November 19th, 2020 in accidents, evidence, insurance, necessity, news, police, road traffic, wrongful arrest by sally

‘The court held that whereas reasonable grounds for suspecting someone has committed an offence sets a low evidential hurdle, the second requirement for an arrest to be lawful (for the Police to prove that there were reasonable grounds to believe the arrest was “necessary”) sets a comparatively high evidential hurdle and the police could not objectively evidence that the arrest was “necessary” when the GP would have been prepared to voluntarily attend the police station and the reasons given by the Police for the “necessity” of arresting the GP were baseless.’

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Parklane Plowden Chambers, 11th November 2020

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

Claimant lawyers urge Lord Chief to step in on whiplash reforms – Legal Futures

‘Claimant personal injury lawyers have turned to the Lord Chief Justice to support an urgent review of the government’s proposed tariff of damages for next April’s whiplash reforms.’

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Legal Futures, 18th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Met Police traffic stops to be reviewed as part of Action Plan – BBC News

‘Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called for police traffic stops to be reviewed to look at whether black people are disproportionately affected by some police tactics.’

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BBC News, 13th November 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Claim for special accommodation – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 10th, 2020 in accidents, damages, disabled persons, housing, news, personal injuries, road traffic by sally

‘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.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 9th November 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Number of motor claims stays low over last three months – Litigation Futures

Posted October 21st, 2020 in accidents, compensation, insurance, news, personal injuries, road traffic, statistics by sally

‘The collapse in new motor injury claims seen during lockdown continued in the following three months, despite more cars returning to the road.’

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Litigation Futures, 20th October 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Legalise e-scooters in UK as alternative to short car trips, MPs say – The Guardian

‘MPs have called on the government to legalise e-scooters in the UK and advertise them to car drivers as a greener alternative for short journeys.’

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The Guardian, 2nd October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

ABI: Claims dived during lockdown but their value went up – Litigation Futures

Posted September 7th, 2020 in accidents, compensation, insurance, news, personal injuries, road traffic, statistics by sally

‘The number of motor insurance claims notified to insurers in the second quarter of 2020 fell by nearly half, but their value leapt by 31%, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).’

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Litigation Futures, 4th September 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

“Unconscionable” for defendant to benefit from portal mistake – Litigation Futures

Posted August 25th, 2020 in accidents, compensation, mistake, news, personal injuries, road traffic, small claims by sally

‘The overriding objective means that defendants can be prevented from taking advantage of claimant errors to achieve lower settlements in RTA portal cases, a judge has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 24th August 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com