Professional Indemnity/ Negligence

Recent Articles

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  15/04/2024

  United Kingdom

  Fundamentally dishonest claimant’s claim dismissed: s.57 of the Criminal Justice & Courts Act 2015 in action

  In Kirsty Williams- Henry v Associated British Ports Holdings Ltd [2024] EWHC 806 (KB), a claimant who had sustained serious injuries following her fall from a pier in 2018 had her claim dismissed because the judge, applying s.57 of the Criminal Justice & Courts Act 2015, concluded that she had been fundamentally dishonest and that dismissing her claim would not cause “substantial injustice”.The claimant was found to have lied, seriously and repeatedly, in relation to her ongoing condition, and to have been wholly unrepentant when giving evidence. Her dishonesty was unravelled,...

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  04/04/2024

  England and Wales

  Supreme Court ruling on the correct approach for assessing PSLA in “mixed injury” claims

  In a judgment welcomed by claimants, the Supreme Court has upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision in the case of Hassam & Anor v Rabot & Anor [2023] EWCA Civ 19 in respect of the correct approach to take when assessing damages in mixed injury cases.Mixed injury cases are those where a claimant suffers a whiplash injury which falls within the scope of the fixed tariff system contained within the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 (made under the Civil Liability Act 2018) but also suffers additional injury which does not fall within the tariff system and is subject to a common law assessment...

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  20/03/2024

  United Kingdom

  Court of Appeal clarifies legal test of reasonable foreseeability in mesothelioma claims

  The Court of Appeal has issued important guidance on the legal test to be applied in establishing liability in asbestos-related mesothelioma claims. In a number of cases the Judgment will make it harder for claimants to succeed in their claims. It will however be welcomed by defendants and insurers.In White v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Cuthbert v Taylor Woodrow [2024] EWCA Civ 244 the two deceased workers had been exposed to light or intermittent levels of asbestos. They had gone on to develop mesothelioma around 2019/21, from which both subsequently died. Their exposure...

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  20/03/2024

  United Kingdom

  Court of Appeal determines costs budgeting issue in personal injury claims - Hadley v Przybylo

  The Court of Appeal has decided that in principle, the Claimant’s solicitors’ costs of attending rehabilitation case management meetings are recoverable as costs of an action.This judgment is significant to anyone handling catastrophic injury claims (including med mal), in particular, where lawyers are attending multi-disciplinary team meetings and costs budgeting applies.In summary, this case questioned the recoverability of legal costs for lawyers to attend case management meetings with medical and other professionals whilst supporting a personal injury Claimant’s rehabilitation,...

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  13/03/2024

  United Kingdom

  Court of Appeal rules that defence of illegality in civil claim is not available if not guilty of criminal offence by reason of insanity

  In Lewis-Ranwell v G4S Health Services (UK) Ltd and others [2024] EWCA Civ 138, the Court of Appeal recently held, by a majority of 2 to 1, that where a person has committed a crime, but has been found not guilty by reason of insanity, the defence of illegality will not prohibit them from claiming damages from those who were responsible for assessing their mental wellbeing at the relevant time.Whilst these circumstances are unusual, they are not novel. This Judgment is particularly important for providers of mental health services and their insurers.Background – Criminal ProceedingsOn 10...

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  07/03/2024

  United Kingdom

  University’s Duties towards Disabled Student - The University of Bristol v Dr Robert Abrahart [2024] EWHC 299

  This judgment concerns the tragic case of a second-year physics student at the University of Bristol (the “University”) who ended her own life in April 2018. She had been diagnosed with depression and social anxiety disorder, which qualifies as a disability under the Equality Act 2010 (the “Act”). As part of her course, she was required to present orally, with other students, the findings of an experiment they conducted and to answer questions about the experiment and the relevant underlying principles of physics. It was accepted as a fact that the cause of her death was...

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