No assignment of CFAs, says the County Court 23 October 2015 Geoffrey-Weddell (0) If a claimant is pursuing a personal injuries claim funded by a CFA, and the solicitors’ firm goes into administration, can the CFA be assigned to a new firm? No, says the County Court at Liverpool. In Jones v Spiral Healthcare (unreported, 11th September 2015, transcript available on Westlaw), the original CFA was entered into validly in 2012. In 2014 the Claimant’s solicitors’ ... [More]
Test for striking out before trial 21 October 2015 Thomas-Crockett (0) The Court of Appeal recently held in Alpha Rocks Solicitors v Alade [2015] EWCA Civ 685 held that the court should exercise caution in the early stages of a case in striking out the entirety of a claim on the grounds that a part had been improperly or even fraudulently exaggerated. The Court (Moore-Bick, Fulford, Vos LJJ) made reference to the draconian nature of the power and the risk... [More]
The rise in injury litigation: dodgy claims managers? 19 October 2015 Thomas-Crockett (0) An article in the Sunday Times a few weeks ago caught my eye. This revealed the aggressive tactics employed by predatory claims farmers to ensure that as many people as possible who have been involved in accidents bring claims for damages for personal injuries. Their tactics were reported as including appealing to base greed (such as the oft-encountered line: “the money is just waiting ... [More]
The abolition of civil liability in employer's liability claims - an early indication of the Courts' approach? 29 September 2015 Jack-Harding (0) Section 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 amended section 47 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 in so far as it relates to civil liability. The section now provides that breach of a duty imposed by a statutory instrument containing health and safety regulations shall not be actionable except so far as regulations made under the 2013 Act so provide. The Act applie... [More]
Health and safety and self-employment – where do the boundaries lie? 24 September 2015 Ben-Hicks employers liability, legislation, personal injury (0) Regular readers of the piblawg will no doubt recall previous posts discussing the various implications of the Lofstedt report . Published in November 2011, it is of course more correctly referred to as the “Reclaiming Health and Safety for All Review”. It included a large number of suggested reforms, all aimed at “reducing the burden of health and safety regulation on busin... [More]
Are there discernable trends in the RTA claims sector? 17 September 2015 Ian-Miller access to justice, costs, personal injury, politics (0) How effective have recent reforms been in reducing the number of road traffic injury claims and their associated costs? The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries reports there has been a slight rise in claims by 1.7% between 2013 and 2014 which is less than suggested by the portal where claims notifications are back to pre-LASPO* levels. Average costs of claims are also increasing again (by 3%).... [More]
Costs budgeting: are incurred costs untouchable? 28 August 2015 Ian-Miller case report, costs, cpr (0) How do you get around costs budgeting? One might have thought by incurring considerable costs before the CCMC: Practice direction 3E 7.4 states that the court may not approve costs incurred before the date of a budget. In CIP Properties Ltd v Galliford Try Infrastructure [2015] EWHC 481 Coulson J came up with an order which would prevent parties to litigation trying to get around the process.... [More]
Sherlock Holmes in the Court of Appeal 21 August 2015 Roderick-Abbott case report, Experts, LP Causation (0) "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” The Sign of Four begins with a bored Holmes mired in cocaine addiction, much to the disquiet of Dr Watson. A young woman appears. She has a mystery that needs solving. Holmes solves it. He is cured from his addiction and, by the end of the book,... [More]
Scrutiny of Medical Evidence & Physiotherapy Charges in low-value PI cases 18 August 2015 Thomas-Crockett evidence, Experts, General, illegality, LP Procedure, personal injury (0) I recently acted for an insurer in a routine low value personal injury case (to which QOCS applied) which had an unusual twist. The claimant claimed damages for neck injuries sustained in a road traffic accident. He signed the Particulars of Claim which were vague as to the description of his injury, but which made reference to an appended medical report. The medical report was of the ... [More]
Contribution, limitation and the Athens Convention 15 July 2015 Ian-Miller case report, Damages, employers liability, personal injury, travel (0) In South West Strategic Health Authority v Bay Island Voyages [2015] EWCA Civ 708 the Court of Appeal considered the scope of the Athens Convention and the nature of the time-bar in Article 16. In coming to its decision, the Court also considered sections 5(1) and 5(2) of the Carriage by Air Act 1961. In the main action, Dr Feest claims damages for personal injury arising out of an accid... [More]