September 2011 #98 – Law Journals

Quantum: Drafting a schedule in a serious clinical negligence case

Stuart Mckechnie gives practical tips on how to optimise claims ‘Traditionally, the costs of commercial care have increased year-on-year at a higher rate than conventional inflation.’ The schedule of loss is the most important quantum document in any serious clinical negligence case. This article provides guidance on how to construct such a schedule and maximise …

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Clinical Negligence: The price of success

Simon Trigger considers the cost perils of overstating your case ‘The old maxim that you have to incur 100% of your costs to recover 1% of your damages appears to have been disproved by the Court of Appeal.’The question of what constitutes success in a piece of litigation was recently revisited by the Court of …

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Maximising Awards: Allocation, allocation, allocation

Andrew Sands and Nick Leech provide guidance on allocation between capital sum and periodical payments in high-value cases ‘Because of their inherent value, periodical payments should be closely considered, along with maximising state benefit entitlements, prioritising needs and cutting coat to available cloth. The allocation process, therefore, is just as relevant in such circumstances.’Periodical payments …

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Carers: Blood is thicker than water

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Sharon Nash finds that awareness of correct tax treatment helps prevent professional negligence ‘Frequently, where family members provide care, the family is either not advised or forgets that statutory deductions of tax and National Insurance may be set aside, subject to HMRC approval.’For many personal injury (PI) clients, the damages they receive are needed to …

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Inflated Claims: I’ve told you a million times, do not exaggerate

Paul Jones identifies costs certainty at the expense of insurers ‘As the claimant attended the appointment, the defendant undertook video surveillance that showed the claimant apparently walking without difficulty until he approached the clinic when he was seen to start to limp and use a walking stick.’ An argument that is often raised by defendants …

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Case Report: O’Connor v Stuttard

Children and road traffic accidents; degrees of negligence ‘The first thing that the practitioner can take from the judgment is that cases such as this are fact specific.’ This case deals with the all-too-frequent situation where a child playing with a ball on the pavement follows the ball into a road and is hit by …

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Abuse: Seeking damages for child pornography

Malcolm Johnson reviews the basis of compensation ‘Clearly a person who abuses a child in the course of creating a film will be liable to the child for assault. However, what about a person who simply takes the film?’ Child pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry. The statistics published by the Child Exploitation and Online …

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