May 2011 #95 – Law Journals

PTSD: Trauma to the mind and how psychiatrists view it

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Dr David Bickerton examines the effect of psychiatric injury ‘Although psychiatry often gives an impression of being a collection of vague or woolly diagnoses with a large amount of subjective variability, it is, in fact, a rigidly defined and operationally controlled speciality.’ Trauma to the body can be objectively defined, measured and assessed whereas damage …

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Procedure: Costs consequences of discontinuance

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Deborah Burke looks at an unusual case in light of the Civil Procedure Rules ‘It is not that often that political parties feature in costs cases, but this case features the British National Party.’Rule 38.6 of the Civil Procedure Rules provides that a discontinuing party will be liable for the costs of the opponent unless …

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Claims: On your bike

Sandra De Souza investigates the number of accidents caused to cyclists ‘It is believed that the number of cyclists in the UK has been in decline since the 1950s. In London, which has the highest proportion of cycling accidents, it is thought that the main reason keeping cyclists off the road is the fear of …

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Case Report: Sienkiewicz v Greif (UK) Ltd [2011] UKSC 10

Asbestos; causation; applying Fairchild; single exposure; s3 Compensation Act 2006 ‘The rule in Fairchild applies to single exposure cases of mesothelioma just as it does in multi-exposure cases. In this way, the decision has dealt a very significant blow to the position of defendants in mesothelioma cases.’In Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd [2002] the …

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PI Blog: Advocare’s advice

In the first of a regular feature, Bill Braithwaite QC provides tactical advice on all the ‘hot topics’ ‘Selection of experts is one of the most important aspects of major personal injury claims. Good experts win cases, bad ones lose them.’ Experts are the flavour of the month. I recently came across a decision in …

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Reform: It’s life, but not as we know it

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Simon Gibbs considers the dramatic consequences of implementing the Jackson Proposals ‘The government intends to have tightly drawn rules to allow recoverability of ATE insurance premiums to cover the cost of expert reports only in clinical negligence cases.’Readers, by now, will be familiar with the government’s plans for implementation of Lord Justice Jackson’s civil litigation …

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Costs: A distinction without a difference

Paul Jones reviews a recent case that emphasises the discretion judges have when dealing with costs ‘Where a court considers that a party has acted unreasonably and, by virtue of that unreasonable conduct, has obtained a costs order on the standard basis rather than the more prescriptive fixed costs, the court can assess the costs …

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CPR: Developments on Part 36

James Wibberley urges that care be taken when drafting offers ‘Unlike contractual offers, Part 36 offers are not terminated by rejection, and will remain open for acceptance unless, and until, such time as they are formally withdrawn. Multiple Part 36 offers may therefore be open for acceptance at any one time within the litigation process.’ …

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