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Max Archer and Kate Boakes provide an introduction to serving claims out of the jurisdiction ‘In answering the question of whether England and Wales is a natural forum for a case, the court must consider whether the action has a real and substantial connection with the jurisdiction.’ This is an article about service, a neglected …
Continue reading "Forum: Rules of service"
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James Goudkamp and Eleni Katsampouka provide an in-depth guide to punitive damages ‘The complaint that punitive damages awards are excessive seems to be unjustified.’ Compensatory damages are awarded to compensate the claimant for loss suffered. By contrast, punitive damages are awarded in order to punish the defendant for his or her contumelious disregard of the …
Continue reading "Punitive Damages: Perception and reality"
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Paul Jones reports on the timing of conditional fee agreements and the application of QOCS ‘The defendant submitted that the claimant was seeking to change the wording of the transitional provision from “pre-commencement funding arrangement” to “unterminated pre-commencement funding arrangement” when there was no justification for the same.’ Transition between legislation is always troublesome. When …
Continue reading "Costs: A troublesome transition"
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Stress at work, psychiatric injury, disciplinary investigations ‘The judge found that the reasons given for the delay following the discontinuance of the police investigation against the claimant were unjustified and there was no consideration of its effect on the claimant’s health.’ Following a 15-day trial before Thirlwall LJ (as she now is; she was promoted …
Continue reading "Case Report: Marsh v Ministry of Justice [2017] EWHC 1040 (QB) (Part 1)"
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Huw Davies considers whether an injury to feeling is sufficient to trigger QOCS protection ‘That there is a distinction in kind between a personal injury and an injury to feelings is evidenced by the fact that it is clearly recognised that claims for both types of injury can be brought in the same action.’ While …
Continue reading "QOCS: Discrimination claims in the civil courts"
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Bill Braithwaite QC analyses the most important cases of the year ‘A report setting out a diagnosis without any recommendation for treatment or any further diagnostic procedure is far from what McNair J had in mind when he directed the jury in Bolam.’ Although I only do clinical negligence claims involving the brain or spine, I …
Continue reading "Advocate’s Advice: Clinical negligence review"
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Julian Matthews examines how the seniority of the practitioner affects medical claims ‘The skills exercised by doctors of different seniority and experience in relation to history-taking will be very variable.’ While it is trite law that the standard of care to be expected from a learner driver is the same as for any other driver, …
Continue reading "Negligence: Standard of care"
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Jamie Gillespie shares his experiences of trends related to lower limb amputation within the UK and relevant issues when considering this head of damage ‘Independent peer-reviewed evidence supporting new technology is often limited at the time of its introduction. This tends to follow several years later, making justification of new technology difficult.’ An amputation or …
Continue reading "Amputations: Prosthetic provisions"
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Following the Grenfell tower block disaster Theo Huckle QC examines differing legal provisions for fire safety and considers what lessons can be learnt ‘It may well be that such tragedies can be avoided in future by steps to require the installation of suppression systems when building and upgrading buildings, irrespective of the flammability of the …
Continue reading "Fire Safety: The devolutionary perspective"
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Liam Ryan reports on claims by rescuers and secondary victims, and assesses the need for law reform ‘Is it not time to at least consider if people who provide more than “trivial or peripheral assistance” in the wake of a disaster should also be classed as rescuers in a new, and wider, concept?’ In recent …
Continue reading "Psychiatric Injury: Victims of circumstance"
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