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Costs: Concluded at trial

Paul Jones discusses when a 100% success fee applies ‘If a case settled less than 14 days before the date fixed for commencement of the trial, a 50% success fee would apply, but if the trial actually commenced, a 100% success fee would apply.’ Fixed success fees in RTA claims, accidents at work and industrial …
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Parental Rights: Whose baby is it anyway?

Susan Freeborn assesses the legal status of the fetus ‘The proposition to tackle is this: the fetus has a right to life against everyone in the world except its mother. The only person who may, with the law’s blessing, end the life of the fetus is the mother of the fetus.’ Why is it that …
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Costs: Model awards

Andrew Hogan considers whether we have reached the end of success fees ‘The hearing before the House of Lords took place prior to the quantification of the success fees, so argument took place without the hard figures to hand.’ On 18 January 2011, the Fourth Section of the European Court of Human Rights handed down …
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Knife Crime: Nightclub violence and beyond?

Tim Petts looks at how far Everett v Comojo (UK) Ltd [2011] can take us ‘The case establishes a general duty on nightclubs to protect guests from reasonably foreseeable harm caused by other guests.’ The basic facts of this personal injury claim are sadly not uncommon, and those with experience in criminal practice (or who …
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Contraceptive Claims: Magic chip?

Stephanie Prior reviews the legal implications of the Implanon contraceptive device ‘Recent controversy surrounding the implant has arisen as women have reported unwanted pregnancies and injury or scarring. The total number of women affected could be far higher.’Over the last 12 years, Implanon, the only subdermal contraceptive available in the UK, has been used by …
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Clinical Negligence: The Damages Act 1996

Julian Matthews looks at the latest authorities concerning the discount rate ‘The computation of continuing losses in clinical negligence and personal injury claims is entirely dependent upon the assessment of the multiplier. Traditionally the multiplier was assessed by the courts on the basis of precedent.’ In early November 2010 the Lord Chancellor announced a review …
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Costs: Recoverability

Paul Jones considers when predictable costs apply ‘If neither fixed predictable costs nor fixed small claims track costs applied, then the only remaining option was for reasonable costs on the standard basis to be payable.’ One of the central tenets of the proposed reforms to civil legal costs is that increased use of fixed costs …
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Right Of Way: Hazards of livestock

Simon Blackburn examines livestock owners’ legal responsibilities to the public ‘The defendant was liable for his negligence in not having properly considered the risk that his cattle posed to members of the public’ The case of McKaskie v Cameron (2009) serves as an illustration that defendants to personal injury claims are just as vulnerable when …
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Liability: Beware of the dark

Emma Zeb focuses on the social benefit of an activity versus the risks of injury ‘The law of tort exists to deter negligent conduct, but it should not serve to stamp out every “iota” of risk or deter “desirable activity”.’I suspect that, for most of the 237th Castle Bromwich Scout Group, Mr Newsome was one …
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CRPS: Unusual response to injury

Dr Peter Hollingworth discusses how to approach claims for complex regional pain syndrome ‘The cardinal feature of CRPS is pain wholly disproportionate to that expected from the injury. The pain is both at rest and on movement, and it interferes with sleep and everyday activities.’ Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is an uncommon condition in …
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