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August 2020 Contents
 Welcome to the August 2020 issue of PI Brief Update Law Journal. Click the relevant links below to read the articles. CPD Note that there are no new monthly CPD quizzes since the SRA and the BSB have both updated their CPD schemes to eliminate this requirement. Reading PIBULJ articles can still help to meet your CPD needs. For further details see our CPD Information page.
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| Personal Injury Articles | |
 Two Lacunas Too Big: Appeal Costs in Low Value Personal Injury Litigation - Vinesh Mistry, Barrister, DWF Advocacy Ltd In Wickes Building Supplies Limited v William Gerarde Blair (No. 2) (Costs) [2020] EWCA Civ 17 ("Blair") it was agreed between the parties that the claimant to the substantive litigation, Mr. Blair, would pay the costs of unsuccessfully appealing a stage three hearing ([2019] EWCA Civ 1934). The Court of Appeal, therefore, in broad terms had to consider whether the costs of the substantive appeal were fixed by CPR 45.17 and whether Mr Blair, notwithstanding the quantum of those costs, benefited from QOCS protection under CPR 44.13... |
 Employers' Liability for Work Place Stress: The Principles and Pitfalls - Michelle Liddy, Oriel Chambers There are a variety of ways that an employer can find themselves compensating an employee for an injury sustained at work. While the majority of these claims relate to physical injury it must be the case that there are hundreds if not thousands of people working under such a level of stress that there is a compensable injury which goes unnoticed... |
 What is a 'highway maintainable at public expense'? Court of Appeal clarifies the tests in Barlow v Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council [2020] EWCA Civ 696 - Sam Way, Devereux Chambers The Court of Appeal has clarified the tests for identifying a highway maintainable at the public expense under the Highways Act 1980. In doing so, they unpack the requirements for an inference to be drawn that a historic pathway was dedicated as a highway at common law such that it is a highway maintainable at public expense within the meaning of the Highways Act 1980... |
 Whittington Hospital NHS Trust v XX [2020] UKSC 14: Damages are recoverable for foreign commercial surrogacy arrangements - Sam Way, Devereux Chambers The Supreme Court has reversed the decision of the Court of Appeal in in Briody v St Helens and Knowsley Areas Health Authority [2002] QB 856, and clarified the basis on which damages may be awarded for surrogacy arrangements, including those carried out on a commercial basis in a foreign jurisdiction, an arrangement which involve the commission of criminal offences if carried out in the UK... |
 Section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980; Credibility and Prejudice - Andrew Roy & Nina Ross,12 King's Bench Walk Under s.33 Limitation Act 1980, the court may disapply the limitation period in a personal injury claim if it is equitable to do so having regard to the prejudice to the claimant if precluded from bringing his claim and the prejudice to the defendant in being required to meet an out of time claim. In FZO v Haringey London Borough Council [2020] EWCA Civ 180 the Court of Appeal provided important guidance as to the assessment of evidential prejudice when limitation is determined alongside the substantive issues at the final trial... |
 How the Paralegal Sector can help PI law firms post Covid-19 - Amanda Hamilton, NALP Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown has affected our personal lives in many ways. Professionally, it has also forced many PI law firms into hardship. When the lockdown is finally fully lifted, and it will lift eventually, law firms including PI will be looking to get back into business and onto an even keel as swiftly as possible. However, they will also probably be looking to cut costs in order to do so... |
 Summary of Recent Cases, August 2020 Here is a summary of the recent notable court cases over the past month... |
 PI Practitioner, August 2020 Each issue a particular topic is highlighted, citing some of the useful cases and other materials in that area. This month: Pegg v Webb (1) Allianz Insurance Plc (2) [2020] EWHC 2095 (QB)... |
| Medico-Legal Articles, Edited by Dr Hugh Koch | |
 Becoming more virus-resilient: tips on dealing with the COVID-19 coronavirus situation (updated) - Professor Hugh Koch Relatives, friends, colleagues and others who we read about in the media are all experiencing the tipsy-turvy world of this pandemic - like the changing lands at the top of Enid Blyton's Magic Faraway Tree, our daily lives swing from positive, happy and coping to pessimistic, low and feeling helpless... |
 Legal Mind Case and Commentary No 31: Fixing Mistakes - [Koch HCH and Bowe J, August 2020] This is the thirty-first in a series of Case reports and Commentaries from Professor Koch and colleagues. Case: Exall 04/20 Update and Commentary on Civil Procedures. Exall finds four key themes pertaining to mistake making which are common in many civil cases in the UK courts. These involve dwelling on mistakes, need for an action plan, getting moving and preventing mistakes in advance where possible... |
July 2020 Contents
 Welcome to the July 2020 issue of PI Brief Update Law Journal. Click the relevant links below to read the articles. CPD Note that there are no new monthly CPD quizzes since the SRA and the BSB have both updated their CPD schemes to eliminate this requirement. Reading PIBULJ articles can still help to meet your CPD needs. For further details see our CPD Information page.
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| Personal Injury Articles | |
 Vicarious liability comes to a sudden stop - Sam Way, Devereux Chambers In two cases, each addressing a different boundary to the application of vicarious liability, the Supreme Court has brought an end to the policy-driven expansion of the doctrine in favour of a return to clear legal principles that should bring increased certainty in an area which has lacked clarity over recent years... |
 QOCS and Set-Off: Court of Appeal finds for defendant but gives permission to appeal to the Supreme Court - Andrew Roy,12 King's Bench Walk In Ho v Adelekun (No. 2)2020] EWCA Civ 517 the Court of Appeal confirmed that the QOCS regime did not preclude a defendant from setting off his or her costs against a claimant’s costs. This was irrespective of whether or to what extent the defendant was precluded from enforcing costs against the claimant’s damages... |
 Section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980: Credibility and Prejudice - Andrew Roy & Nina Ross,12 King's Bench Walk Under s.33 Limitation Act 1980, the court may disapply the limitation period in a personal injury claim if it is equitable to do so having regard to the prejudice to the claimant if precluded from bringing his claim and the prejudice to the defendant in being required to meet an out of time claim... |
Summary of Recent Cases, July 2020 Here is a summary of the recent notable court cases over the past month... |
| PI Practitioner, July 2020 Each issue a particular topic is highlighted, citing some of the useful cases and other materials in that area. This month: Zenith Insurance Plc v LPS Solicitors Ltd [2020] EWHC 1260 (QB) |
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| Medico-Legal Articles, Edited by Dr Hugh Koch | |
| Becoming more virus-resilient: tips on dealing with the COVID-19 coronavirus situation (updated) - Professor Hugh Koch Key risk factors are clearly proximity to infected individuals but our own personal resilience can enhance our protection to becoming unwell... but what does this mean?... |
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| Clinical Negligence Medicine by Dr Mark Burgin | |
 Causing Pain to Conscious Patients - Dr Mark Burgin Dr. Mark Burgin BM BCh (oxon) MRCGP discusses the ethical issue of how much pain it is reasonable to inflict on a conscious patient. |
 Appropriate Use of Hyperbole by Experts - Dr Mark Burgin Dr. Mark Burgin BM BCh (oxon) MRCGP discusses how an apparently exaggerated opinion can be consistent with the expert's duty to the Court... |
| Book Reviews | |
 Book Review: 'Personal Injury Limitation Law 4th Edition' (Bloomsbury) by Andrew Roy and Nina Ross Reviewed by Aidan Ellis, Temple Garden Chambers... |
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June 2020 Contents
 Welcome to the June 2020 issue of PI Brief Update Law Journal. Click the relevant links below to read the articles. CPD Note that there are no new monthly CPD quizzes since the SRA and the BSB have both updated their CPD schemes to eliminate this requirement. Reading PIBULJ articles can still help to meet your CPD needs. For further details see our CPD Information page.
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| Personal Injury Articles | |
 High Court denies relief from sanctions - Louise Jackson, Browne Jacobson In the recent case of Magee v Willmott the Defendant successfully appealed a lower court decision to allow the Claimant relief from sanctions to rely upon expert evidence served after the deadline had passed for exchange and not to strike out part of the Claimant's case which was unsupported by the Claimant's breach expert and where no case on causation had been pleaded... |
 Case Summary: H v H - Helen Reynolds of Spencers Solicitors Limited The Claimant brought an action against the Defendant following a road traffic accident in which her father sustained fatal injuries. She brought the claim on behalf of the dependents of the deceased and for the benefit of the estate, as Executrix of the estate of the deceased... |
 Brain injury rehabilitation driven to crisis-point by perfect Covid-19 storm Brain injury rehabilitation has been driven to crisis point by a perfect Covid-19 storm - destroying NHS capacity and devastating third sector funding, according to a new report. Brain injury charity Calvert Reconnections and barristers Exchange Chambers polled 161 of the UK's most senior brain injury solicitors... |
Summary of Recent Cases, June 2020 Here is a summary of the recent notable court cases over the past month... |
 Will Brexit affect PI Paralegals? - Amanda Hamilton, National Association of Licenced Paralegals Brexit will undoubtedly have a knock-on effect for many different professions. I have friends and acquaintances who are involved in architectural design, architectural photography and construction and who have indicated that their business is already suffering... |
PI Practitioner, June 2020 Each issue a particular topic is highlighted, citing some of the useful cases and other materials in that area. This month: DMR (by her litigation friend, LEW) v IX & ORS [2020] EWCA Civ 377... |
| Clinical Negligence Medicine by Dr Mark Burgin | |
 Experts in the Asylum Process - Dr Mark Burgin Dr Mark Burgin BM BCh (oxon) MRCGP discusses how experts use evidence in an asylum case in their reports to assist the tribunal... |
 Human Factors (HF) and QIPP: Part of the Solution or Problem? - Dr Mark Burgin Dr Mark Burgin BM BCh (oxon) MRCGP discusses how management theories are being applied to medical practice without monitoring, focusing on current favourites... |
| Medico-Legal Articles, Edited by Dr Hugh Koch | |
 Legal Mind Case and Commentary No 30: The Joint Report and Agendas - Koch HCH, Sutton E, Fernandez-Ford L and Jansen F, (June 2020) This is the thirtieth in a series of Case reports and Commentaries from Professor Koch and colleagues. A clinical negligence case concerning adverse events during surgery raised issues of how expert evidence was provided and the elements which were not helpful to clarifying issues for the judge... |
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May 2020 Contents
 Welcome to the May 2020 issue of PI Brief Update Law Journal. Click the relevant links below to read the articles. CPD Note that there are no new monthly CPD quizzes since the SRA and the BSB have both updated their CPD schemes to eliminate this requirement. Reading PIBULJ articles can still help to meet your CPD needs. For further details see our CPD Information page.
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| Personal Injury Articles | |
 Tort of deceit and recovering exemplary damages - Morgan Davies, Horwich Farrelly Morgan Davies, Fraud Partner at Horwich Farrelly, looks at the case of Advantage Insurance Company Ltd v Junior Elliot, an examples of successfully defending a claim for the tort of deceit and recovering exemplary damages... |
 Electronic signatures and the importance of knowing your expert - Simon Ross, Exchange Chambers On 3rd March 2020, Robert Buckland, the incumbent Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, confirmed that electronic signatures are permissible and legally valid if used in commercial and consumer documents. This declaration followed a Law Commission report, published in September last year, that looked at the electronic execution of documents, including deeds... |
 The effect COVID-19 is having on UK media trends and attracting claims - Andy Cullwick, First4Lawyers You won’t be surprised to hear that media consumption has changed in light of the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, we’re all having to respond and focusing our operations and marketing efforts where they are best placed... |
Summary of Recent Cases, May 2020 Here is a summary of the recent notable court cases over the past month... |
| PI Practitioner, May 2020 Each issue a particular topic is highlighted, citing some of the useful cases and other materials in that area. This month: Bonsor v Bio Collectors Ltd [2020] EWHC 918 (QB)... |
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| Medico-Legal Articles, Edited by Dr Hugh Koch | |
| Legal Mind Case and Commentary No 29: Risks of Unbalanced and Misleading Expert Evidence - Koch HCH, Medley A and Pelser C, May 2020 This is the twenty-ninth in a series of Case reports and Commentaries from Professor Koch and colleagues... |
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| Clinical Negligence Medicine by Dr Mark Burgin | |
 You are breathing my air; New insights on respiratory pathogens - Dr Mark Burgin Dr. Mark Burgin BM BCh (oxon) MRCGP discusses whether continuing to tolerate high levels of deaths from respiratory infections will be acceptable in a post COVID world... |
 Legal Implications of Palliative Care Decisions in Covid-19 - Dr Mark Burgin Dr. Mark Burgin BM BCh (oxon) MRCGP raises concerns about the approaches taken by health care systems in dealing with those too frail to benefit from admission... |
 Losing the Battle against Burnout - Dr Mark Burgin Dr. Mark Burgin BM BCh (oxon) MRCGP explains how an understanding of the mechanism of burnout can help personal injury and employment law solicitors... |
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April 2020 Contents
 Welcome to the April 2020 issue of PI Brief Update Law Journal. Click the relevant links below to read the articles. CPD Note that there are no new monthly CPD quizzes since the SRA and the BSB have both updated their CPD schemes to eliminate this requirement. Reading PIBULJ articles can still help to meet your CPD needs. For further details see our CPD Information page.
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| Personal Injury Articles | |
 FREE CHAPTER from 'A Practical Guide to the Pre-Action RTA Claims Protocol for Personal Injury Lawyers' by Antonia Ford The aim of this book is to provide a practical guide to all stages of the RTA Protocol to assist in the handling of pre-litigation claims and inform Practitioners of the potential impact that pre-litigation decisions may have on future litigation.... |
 Credit Hire and Fundamental Dishonesty - Aidan Ellis, Temple Garden Chambers For many years, the claimants in credit hire cases were habitually described by Judges as honest witnesses, perhaps confused about the detail of the contractual arrangements but always trying their best to assist the court. However, the growing judicial awareness of the problem of fraudulent claims in soft tissue injury cases and the increasing reliance on section 57 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 means that... |
 Andrea Brown v Comissioner of Police of the Metropolis & Others [2019] EWCA Civ 1724: The Court of Appeal addressed the application of QOCS in 'mixed' claims - Ian Meikle, Civitas Law AB had brought actions relating to allegedly wrongful use of personal data, claiming damages for personal injury, for breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 (“DPA”) and the Human Rights Act 1998 ('HRA') and for breach of contract, misfeasance in public office and the misuse of private information. Her claim was therefore 'mixed' (i.e. included claims for personal and injury and otherwise) for the purposes of CPR 44.13-44.16... |
 Do not stand on ceremony, else time will become the Claimant’s enemy: Durkan -v- Schmidt - James Devenny, Horwich Farrelly This case relates to an accident that occurred in 2011; the Claimant conducted the claim through the portal process, which at that point had an upper limit of £10,000. Very little progress was made and eventually, proceedings were issued under the Part 8B procedure, and the Claimant applied for a stay of proceedings... |
 Case Summary: D v S - Karen Cawood, Spencers Solicitors Limited On the 11th April 2015 the Claimant was driving his motor vehicle along the road between Filey and York. As he proceeded correctly along the road, a motor vehicle being driven by the Defendant and approaching from the opposite direction, crossed over into the Claimant’s path and collided with the Claimant’s vehicle causing it to spin and roll onto its roof. The Defendant was trying to change his radio and this is why he was on the wrong side of the road... |
Summary of Recent Cases, April 2020 Here is a summary of the recent notable court cases over the past month... |
| PI Practitioner, April 2020 Each issue a particular topic is highlighted, citing some of the useful cases and other materials in that area. This month we provide resources and updates in relation to courts and hearings during Covid-19... |
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| Medico-Legal Articles, Edited by Dr Hugh Koch | |
| Experts' Joint Statements: Key Medico-Legal Issues - Koch, HCH, Davies M & Laraway A Background: Christopher Sharp QC (St. John’s Chambers, Bristol) reviewed a series of recent cases which involved the preparation of Joint Statements. This excellent review raised a number of issues which are discussed here (Sharp C (2019) Part 35 and the Expert’s Joint Statement)... |
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| Clinical Negligence Medicine by Dr Mark Burgin | |
 Intolerable Regulation or Necessary Progress: has MedCo lost its way? - Dr Mark Burgin Dr Mark Burgin considers why MedCo’s brand has become tarnished and how reducing costs, improving representation and recruitment could repair the damage... |
 Evidence of Large-Scale Neglect for Child Mental Health - Dr Mark Burgin Dr Mark Burgin BM BCh (oxon) MRCGP considers the legal implications of a recent study by Stem4 reported in GP online based on a poll of 1000 GPs... |
![Appeal judge rules that credit hire company has no costs liability following a finding of fundamental dishonesty in personal injury case: RSA v. Fastrack Solutions Limited [2023] 4 WLUK 92 - David Bowden, Erimus Chambers](/content/images/resized/images/stories/carkeys_72_72.jpg)
