PI Brief Update

In costs budgeting, comparison of the parties' respective budgets is a relevant consideration - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers

20/03/24. Woolley v Ministry of Justice [2024] EWCA 304 (KB)

Date of Judgment: 16/02/2024

The CCMC

Costs budgets in a claim valued up to £80,000 were prepared in May 2023. The claim...

Far from too remote: Armstead v Royal & Sun Alliance [2024] UKSC 6 - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

18/03/24. The Claimant was involved in an accident, whilst she was driving a vehicle she had hired on credit from Helphire. The driver of the other vehicle, who was insured by th...

Court of Appeal assesses the scope of solicitors’ duty of care to prospective clients during an initial call to their helpline - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers

24/02/24. Miller v Irwin Mitchell LLP [2024] EWCA Civ 53

Date of Judgment: 01/02/2024

Background

Whilst on holiday in Turkey in May 2014, the Claimant slipped and fell down some sta...

A Vindication (and QOCS Protection) for Vindicatory Claims: Clark v Adams [2024] EWHC 62 (KB) - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

22/02/24. This claim raised a question about the application of QOCS where nominal damages of “£1 for vindicatory purposes” was sought. The claim was brought against Mr Gerry Ada...

Secondary victim claims restricted by the Supreme Court alongside important clarification of the Alcock criteria - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers

23/01/24. Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust [2024] UKSC 1. Date of Judgment: 11/01/2024.

In an important decision for personal injury and clinical negligence practitioners, the...

Mini Review: The Government's Response to the Official Injury Claim Service Inquiry - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

25/01/24. The Official Injury Claim (OIC) service was developed to provide a free and accessible service for bringing low-value, road traffic accident personal injury claims. The...

Trial fairness generally dictates the challenge of evidence by cross-examination of witnesses, including expert witnesses - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers

15/12/23. Griffiths v TUI UK Ltd [2023] UKSC 48

Date of Judgment: 29/11/2023

Background

The Supreme Court has handed down an important judgment in the context of personal injury lit...

The Prospect of State Funded Care and Double Recovery: WNA v NDP [2023] EWHC 2970 (KB) - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

13/12/23. The Claimant had become tetraplegic as the result of a road traffic accident and liability had already been determined her favour. Quantum had been largely agreed – wit...

Interim interim payments on account of costs - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

20/11/ 23. Shaun Trotman v Master Brickwork London Essex Limited [2023] EWHC 2791 (KB). This case dealt with the question of whether a successful Claimant is limited to securing a...

Lifting the QOCS cap under r.44.16(2) and whether it is just to do so - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers

18/11/23. Amjad v UK Insurance Limited [2023] EWHC 2832 (KB). Date of Judgment: 10/11/2023. Mr Justice Richie allowed an appeal of a costs decision relating to the exceptions to ...

Sexual Abuse Claims and the Judicial College Guidelines: AXB v Hossam Metwally [2023] EWHC 2470 (KB) - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

30/10/23. This decision comprised a damages assessment for misuse of private and intimate information – a new frontier for personal injury litigation in this digital age. It is a...

The exclusion of expert evidence as inadmissible duplicative hearsay evidence - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers

30/10/23. Crypto Open Patent Alliance v Wright [2023] EWHC 2408 (Ch), Date of Judgment: 03/10/2023. This case is one of several strands of litigation that relate to Dr Craig Wrig...

A Limitation Conundrum without a Precedent: Shaw v Maguire [2023] EWHC 2155 (KB) - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

30/09/23. The case arose out of a deeply unhappy set of circumstances, as well as an unhappy procedural history. The Claimant was the widow of a man who had died of metastatic me...

Silence did not amount to a failure to engage in ADR and Part 36 applied - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers

27/09/23. In this case, a separate judgment on costs was given by Master Marsh (sitting in retirement) following written submissions by the Claimant and the Third Defendant. The ...

The 'fundamental' in fundamental dishonesty: Attique Denzil v Usman Mohammed and UK Insurance Ltd [2023] EWHC 2077 (KB) - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

25/08/23. In this case, the Appellant had asserted at trial that he had suffered various injuries in a road traffic accident, including an alleged injury to his head causing swel...

Both parts of a combined Part 36 offer have to be beaten for Part 36 cost consequences to follow (and leapfrog permission given on child 'lost years' claim): CCC (by LF MMM) v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals [2023] EWHC 1905 (KB) - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Gard

23/08/23. Mr Justice Richie addressed two matters of importance. First, how the court should assess whether a combined Part 36 offer has been beaten. Second, whether an appeal po...

‘Payment of the Bill’ Under the Solicitors Act 1974: Menzies v Oakwood Solicitors Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 844 - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

31/07/23. In this case, the Court of Appeal analysed s 70 of the Solicitors Act 1974.

As explained at [1], s 70 ‘ entitles a client to apply to the court for an assessment of a sol...

Dishonesty or litigation 'wishful thinking' - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

30/07/23. Judges are often asked to consider the honesty of a witness when giving evidence. Mr Justice Richards considered the question in the context of an action by a corporate...

Whiplash reform: As settlement times rise, the OIC portal remains far from perfect - Matthew Huggett, president of CILEX

04/07/23. In 2021, the Ministry of Justice brought in reforms that increased the small-claims limit for road traffic accidents from £1,000 to £5,000, implemented fixed damages fo...

Courts cannot future-proof orders: Tabbitt v Clark [2023] EWCA Civ 744 - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

29/06/23. The Court of Appeal considered an application for a declaration that would have “future-proofed” the Claimant’s costs liability where he was late to accept the defendant’...

Supreme Court Practice Note: 7 March 2024 - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

19/03/24. Be aware that the President of the Supreme Court issued a practice note on 7 March 2024 designed to encourage junior counsel to take a more prominent role in advocacy in ...

Permission granted to withdraw admission made 3 years earlier - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers

15/03/24. West v Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2024] 2 WLUK 516

Date of Judgment: 28/02/2024

In these proceedings relating to a wrongful birth claim, the second defe...

Not a Soft Touch: Walker v Mersey Care NHS Foundation [2024] EWHC 119 (KB) - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

23/02/24. This claim was brought following an accident that occurred when the Claimant, an employee of the Defendant NHS Foundation, was asked to participate in a game described ...

Court of Appeal delivers judgment on the delivery of judgments: it is not a transactional process - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers

21/02/24. YM (Care Proceedings) (Clarification of Reasons) [2024] EWCA Civ 71

Date of Judgment: 08/02/2024

In the context of a family case relating to a fact-finding hearing in res...

Court of Appeal examines rules relating to the assessment of fees charged by solicitors - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers

24/01/24. Kenig v Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP [2024] EWCA Civ 15. Date of Judgment: 18/01/2024.

The Claimant/Respondent is the beneficiary of his mother’s estate. He sought t...

Another cautionary tale about service: Chehaib v King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2024] EWHC 2 (KB) - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

22/01/24. This case started life as a clinical negligence claim brought against three Defendants. The claim was issued just within time on 2 August 2021. The Second Defendant con...

'Good Discharge': The Importance of Obtaining Court Approval for Child Settlements - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

14/12/23. Bayless v Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2023] EWHC 2986 (KB)

This dispute arose following the death of a 42-year old father of two whose...

Immediate term of 10 months’ imprisonment imposed on fraudulent claimant - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers

12/12/23. QBE UK Ltd v Hilton [2023] EWHC 2931 (KB)

Date of Judgment: 17/11/2023

The Fraudulent Claim

The Claimant brought a claim in relation to an accident at work on 15 July 2015...

£1 million settlement in vaginal mesh implant case renews calls for a settlement scheme - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers

17/11/23. A 59-year-old woman has reached a settlement of over £1 million in relation to medical issues that arose as a result of a vaginal mesh implant. She received the transva...

'Occupational hazards' and direct access cases: Glaser v Atay [2023] EWHC 2539 (KB) - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

31/10/23. This case focused on the application of the Consumer Rights Act (“CRA”) 2015 to barristers’ fees in a case where a lay client had instructed two barristers on a direct ...

Justice Committee publishes interim report on the operation of the Official Injury Claim (OIC) Portal - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers

31/10/23. Last month, the Justice Committee published their report entitled ‘ Whiplash Reform and the Official Injury Claim Service ’. This report is written as part of an inquiry ...

The Limits of the Extended Fixed Recoverable Costs Regime - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

29/09/23. Much has already been said about the incoming extended fixed recoverable costs (“FRC”) regime and accompanying intermediate track which take effect from 1 October 2023....

FREE CHAPTER from 'A Practical Guide to Dental Negligence Litigation' by Louisa Sherlock

02/09/23. This Practical Guide to Dental Negligence Litigation provides helpful information for lawyers who are running dental negligence cases, be that for Claimant or Defendant...

'Mixed claims' and the application of QOCS - Afriyie v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis [2023] EWHC 1974 (KB) - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

24/08/23. This claim arose out of an incident in which the Claimant had been tasered by the police and had fallen and hit his head. The Claimant had brought a claim for assault, ...

Caution given against misconceived appeals of case management decisions: Jennings v Otis Limited and Bristol City Council [2023] EWHC 2039 (KB) - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers

22/08/23. The appeal related to a case management order (CMO) made by Master Thornett at the RCJ in March 2023. The Master was critical of the pleadings and the Claimant’s Part 1...

FREE CHAPTER from 'A Practical Guide to Respirable Crystalline Silica Dust Claims' by Helen Pagett

02/08/23. The HSE has identified silica as the greatest risk to construction workers after asbestos. Despite not only the risks of respiratory crystalline silica being well known...

‘The Denton Tests Do Apply to an Application to Set Aside Judgment’: FXF v English Karate Federation Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 891 - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

31/07/23. As Sir Geoffrey Vos MR—with whom Nicola Davies LJ agreed and Birss LJ agreed in a short concurring judgment—explained at [1], ‘[t] his case highlight [ed] a controversial ...

Interpreters’ fees can be recoverable under the fixed costs regime - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

30/07/23. The fixed costs regime pursuant to CPR r.45 is very familiar territory to personal injury practitioners. In Santiago v Motor Insurers’ Bureau [2023] EWCA Civ 838, the Cou...

A reminder to practitioners about the importance of skeleton arguments: Masih & Anor v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust [2023] EWHC 1280 (KB) - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

06/06/23. A judgment handed down by Ritchie J reminds practitioners about the appropriate role of skeleton arguments in proceedings.

The Appellant had been granted permission to a...

Intervening Medical Treatment and the Chain of Causation: Jenkinson v Hertfordshire County Council [2023] EWHC 872 (KB) - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

30/05/23. In this case, Andrew Baker J addressed whether Webb v Barclays Bank PLC and Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust [2002] PIQR P8 ‘ establishe [d] as a rule of law that medical trea...