June 2014 #126 – Law Journals

Reform: The ‘anomalous’ Fatal Accidents Act

Charles Bagot analyses the consequences of a recent decision ‘The observations of the senior judiciary that the Fatal Accidents Act is anomalous, while being plainly legal rather than political observations, may strike a chord with those in government and the civil service looking to reduce the level of compensation generally.’ This article considers a recent …

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Case Report: Cox v Ergo Versicherung AG [2014] UKSC 22

Fatal Accidents Act; jurisdiction; assessment of damages ‘The Supreme Court upheld the decision that the damages rules of the Fatal Accidents Act could not be applied to Mrs Cox’s cause of action under the German Burgerliches Gezetzbuch (BGB).’In this case the Supreme Court considered whether provisions of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 applied to the …

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Non-Delegable Duties: A cause for concern?

Emma Sole reports on the effects of the judgment in Woodland v Essex County Council [2013] ‘The Supreme Court has not increased the scope of public authority liability, from a historical perspective, but rather preserved it at the level it had been before the advent of mass outsourcing.’In handing down its decision in Woodland v …

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Standstill Agreements: Can the Limitation Act really be suspended?

Tim Hirst considers the potential pitfalls of trying to prevent a limitation defence ‘If an agreement not to plead the statute is not adhered to by the defendant, that gives a claimant a second cause of action; that is to say to sue for the breach of that agreement.’ Perhaps as a result of the …

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Civil Procedure: Case Management Orders – when will a costs judge depart from them?

Peter Kirby QC, a High Court costs assessor, provides guidance on how to ensure you recover your costs ‘The imperative is to try and get the budget right the first time and, if necessary, during the course of the litigation to have the same revised in the light of changing circumstances.’ Billy Joel once sang, …

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Advocate’s Advice: Care in catastrophic claims

Bill Braithwaite QC discusses the difficult issues that arise ‘The basic principle is that professionals must respect the views and wishes of the family. The difficulty which pervades this aspect of a claim is that families only come to a considered position after much experience and, often, heart-searching.’Future care is almost always the most substantial …

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Disclosure: Privacy v relevance

Justin Valentine argues that disclosure of all medical records in personal injury litigation is not necessary with modest claims ‘The pre-action protocols for low value personal injury claims provide that the medical expert should identify records relevant to the claim which should then be disclosed.’ It is not a precondition for bringing a modest claim …

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Costs: Proportionality

Paul Jones highlights a recent case concerning costs incurred during the transitional provisions ‘Even where the global costs have not been held to be disproportionate, it was still open to the judge to apply the test of necessity to individual costs which he considered to be disproportionate.’ The 1 April 2013 brought a new test …

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