December 2014/January 2015 #131 – Law Journals

Neglect: Prosecuting healthcare professionals who harm patients

Guy Pomphrey discusses the new criminal offence of wilful neglect ‘A jury must consider the extent to which the defendant’s conduct departed from the proper standard of care and assess whether this conduct was so grossly negligent as to constitute a crime.’ The public inquiry into the events at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust led …

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Asbestos: The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments Scheme

Lucy Boyle outlines the details of the new compensation system for asbestos victims ‘The person must not have already brought an action for damages against an employer or insurer and they must be “unable to bring an action” because an employer or insurer “cannot be found or no longer exists or for any other reason”.’ …

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Investment: The discount rate – debunking the mythology

Nick Leech and Andrew Sands build on their article in October’s issue with further exploration of the traditional lump sum award versus periodical payments ‘All in all, the proposition that claimants would be better off with lump sum awards is incorrect.’ Despite all that has been written about the present discount rate and its impact …

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Costs: Once a QOCS, always a QOCS

Paul Jones examines an emerging area of dispute in the application of QOCS ‘The starting position for QOCS is that a costs order made in favour of successful defendant to a personal injury claim cannot be enforced against the claimant.’ One of the most significant reforms ushered in by the Jackson report was Qualified One …

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Multiple Defendants: Who to sue? Practical and cost considerations

In the first of two articles Hannah Godfrey considers the tactical and practical considerations associated with multiple defendant claims. The next, in the February issue, will review the substantive law ‘Where the injury is divisible, you may need to consider the merits of proceeding against one or more defendants separately rather than joining multiple parties …

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Negligence: Material contribution to damage

One of the more intellectually challenging concepts in the field of clinical negligence is that of material contribution. Julian Matthews highlights two recent cases which illustrate some of the issues which arise ‘A defendant cannot be held to be liable for loss or damage that it did not cause or to which it made no …

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Case Report: Yapp v Foreign and Commonwealth Office [2014] EWCA Civ 1512

Taking the strain; foreseeability in occupational stress claims ‘Occupational stress cases, whether founded on cumulative stress or on a one-off act of unfairness, remain extremely difficult to win.’ This case provides important confirmation of the difficulties in establishing liability for injury arising from occupational stress. Hitherto it was arguable that the high foreseeability hurdle erected …

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