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Anthony Johnson reports that judges will not tolerate dishonesty ‘The judge concluded that, having exercised the discretion under CPR 81.13(3)(a) afresh, the public interest in the case clearly militated in favour of committal proceedings being brought.’ The Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Zurich Insurance plc v Romaine [2019] is essential reading for any party …
Continue reading "Contempt of court: Committal where the die has already been cast"
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Do not assume QOCS automatically applies, warns Jasmine Murphy ‘Where a personal injury claim includes claims for other things like car repairs or credit hire for example, QOCS protection is not automatically given.’ It is easy to assume that qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS) applies automatically to every personal injury case. However the most recent …
Continue reading "Costs orders: QOCS or not?"
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Does conferring with a consultant absolve a junior doctor? Rajkiran Barhey summarises a recent case ‘While at first blush it may seem unfair to require the same standard of care from junior doctors as their more senior colleagues, a number of considerations must be borne in mind.’ The Scottish case of Andrews v Greater Glasgow …
Continue reading "Breach of duty: Assessing the standard of care: junior doctors"
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Noise-induced hearing loss; adverse inferences; noise surveys ‘In reviewing Garnham J’s decision, the court restated how cautious judges should be in overturning decisions of fact, particularly as they had not had the benefit of hearing what they referred to as the “sea” of evidence.’ Historic noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) claims are notorious for posing evidential …
Continue reading "Case report: Mackenzie v Alcoa Manufacturing (GB) Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 2110"
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Paul Jones highlights a recent case that provides helpful guidance in an area where the rules are silent ‘The defendant’s submission was that CPR 36.20 gave rise to a deemed order for costs to be assessed by the court and, the claimant, therefore, should have sought a detailed assessment of those costs.’ One of the …
Continue reading "Costs: Assessment of fixed costs: a three-stage process"
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Long-running litigation can cause cash-flow issues for firms. Harriet Wakeman examines when an application for an interim payment on account of costs will be successful ‘In circumstances where quantum had not yet been determined, did the court have the power to make an order for the payment of costs?’ In HI v Hull & East …
Continue reading "Payments on account of costs: Putting the cart before the horse?"
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John McDonald explores the interesting area of insurance policy exclusions and who ultimately ends up footing the bill ‘Even if an insurer can establish that the racing exclusion in its policy wording is on its face effective to exclude cover in respect of the activity being carried on by its insured at the time of …
Continue reading "Motor insurance: Racing exclusions in motor policies"
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Ann Houghton and Richard Baker outline the complexities involved in pursuing a claim for an involuntary participant ‘Adding “involuntary participant” to the claimant practitioner’s armoury is not fostering a compensation culture: it is enabling victims to seek recourse under a long-standing doctrine which the highest courts have recognised for decades.’ As all practitioners know, facing …
Continue reading "Psychiatric injuries: A forgotten primary victim remembered"
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Paul Jones highlights the importance of compliance with the precise wording of Part 36 for an offer to be valid ‘The offer in this case was expressly exclusive of interest and so did not comply with CPR 36.5(4), was not a valid Part 36 offer and, therefore, did not engage the enhanced costs provisions of …
Continue reading "Costs: What’s interesting about Part 36 offers?"
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Julian Matthews looks at the rules limiting recovery of damages in such cases, and practical issues relating to the quantification and management where a claim can be made ‘A wrongful birth claim based upon a negligent failed sterilisation, or failures in relation to antenatal screening, where there is then a disabled child born, is likely …
Continue reading "Clinical negligence: Wrongful birth: a complex anomaly"
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