Child Car Seats and Contribution Claims 27 April 2012 Thomas-Crockett LP contributory negligence, SA Road Traffic Accidents (0) In the latest of my run of articles on recent developments in the law of contributory negligence in personal injury cases, I have turned to the recent decision of the High Court in Emma Hughes (by Anne Marie Armstrong) v Estate of Dayne Joshua Williams, deceased (Defendant) and Louise Williams (Third Party) [2012] EWHC 1078 (QB). It is tempting to say that “everyone knows”... [More]
Lords insist on amendments to LASPO 25 April 2012 Frances-McClenaghan access to justice, legislation, mesothelioma, politics, SA Industrial Disease (1) The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill (“LASPO”) has now reached the “Ping Pong” stage, during which time the Bill will be batted back and forth between the two Houses, until both Houses agree on the text. From the point of view of PI practitioners, two important amendments are being sought by the Lords. The first is that people should have access to leg... [More]
Good with Food? 24 April 2012 Matthew-Chapman LP Causation, personal injury (1) Case note: Josephine Mitchell & Others v United Co-operatives Limited [2012] EWCA Civ 348 Just occasionally the law reports provide us with a glimpse of the difficult working conditions that some employees have to endure (even where their employer is not to blame for such working conditions). Josephine Mitchell and others, decided by the Court of Appeal at the end of last month, is an example... [More]
Supreme Court appeal on striking out fraudulent claims 22 April 2012 Frances-McClenaghan SA fraud (1) Should a claim be struck out in its entirety if it is substantially fraudulent? That was the issue considered by the Supreme Court last week in Fairclough Homes Limited v Summers. The appeal arose out of a commonplace employers liability case. Mr Summers slipped on a defective step whilst descending from a stacker truck. He fell to the ground, thereby breaking his right hand and suffering a... [More]
What's in a name? 10 April 2012 Simon-Readhead-QC access to justice, cpr, LP Procedure, witnesses, litigant in person, self represented litigant (2) On 22 March, after 200 years of being called Cadbury, Kraft, the US food conglomerate which bought the Cadbury business in 2010, is changing its name to - Mondelez (pronounced mohn-dah-LEEZ) International. The article I read suggests this means delicious world – “monde” coming, I suppose, from the French (or perhaps the Latin) for world and “delez”... [More]