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Paul Jones considers the potential conflict between fixed costs and Part 36 offers ‘Could the court, following late acceptance of a Part 36 offer in a fixed-costs case, make an order for the costs incurred in the late period to be paid in addition to the fixed costs?’ The system of fixed costs, which covers …
Continue reading "Costs: To fix or not to fix?"
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Rushmi Sethi examines clinical negligence claims concerning childbirth injury ‘The doctor’s obligation, other than in cases where it would damage the patient’s welfare, was to present the material risks and uncertainties of different treatments, and to allow patients to make decisions that would affect their health and well-being on proper information.’ Relatively few childbirth injury …
Continue reading "Childbirth Injury: Liability issues"
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Apportionment of liability; psychiatric injury; pre-existing illness ‘The tone of Underhill LJ’s judgment is that it will be difficult to convince a court that apportionment is not going to be possible.’ This case revisits the vexed question of divisibility of psychiatric (and other) injury. It is an employment case of wide importance and application. The …
Continue reading "Case Report: BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd v Konczak [2017] EWCA Civ 1188"
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Geoffrey Simpson-Scott considers what is next for fixed costs in clinical negligence litigation ‘A useful rule-of-thumb is that the more expensive the average expert report is within a discipline, the more complicated that area of clinical negligence work is likely to be.’ Tremulously clicking the hyperlink to Sir Rupert Jackson’s Supplemental Report: Fixed Recoverable Costs …
Continue reading "Fixed Recoverable Costs: Apocalypse averted?"
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Darren Lewis reviews a recent Court of Appeal decision clarifying QOCS where there have been pre and post 1 April 2013 conditional fee agreements ‘Litigants were faced with two conflicting approaches: one based on an expansive definition of proceedings and one with a narrow definition of proceedings and a focus on the notional recovery of …
Continue reading "QOCS: Switching CFAs"
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Nicola Hall investigates whether treatment costs for drug addiction following an accident resulting in chronic pain can form part of a special damage claim ‘Doctors should make sure that their patients always follow the prescription medication directions carefully, be aware of the side effects and explain clearly to the patient that they should not increase …
Continue reading "Drug Dependency And Chronic Pain: Abuse of prescription drugs – is it a growing trend?"
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Patrick West highlights a recent credit hire case where the key issue was whether a hire organisation has immunity from a non-party costs order ‘The fact that a credit hire company promoted litigation for its own financial benefit was a factor which the court could take into account when considering whether it was just for …
Continue reading "Non-Party Costs Orders: A Pyrrhic victory avoided"
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Philip Turton examines Bussey, Williams and the problem of low-level asbestos exposure ‘It has been the period from 1965 to 1976 which has presented as the area of battle as to what, if anything, constituted “acceptable” or “reasonable” exposure at the time.’ If, as seems likely, the recent decision in Bussey v Anglia Heating [2017] …
Continue reading "Mesothelioma Claims: What is reasonable?"
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Paul Jones outlines the latest decision which concerns hourly rates ‘To depart from the approved budget, the court must be satisfied that there is a good reason and, in this case, the court found that there was a good reason.’ Of all the reforms implemented by Jackson LJ, costs budgets is the issue that continues …
Continue reading "Costs Budgets: The gift that keeps on giving"
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Costs, discount rate, alternative dispute resolution ‘A party who makes serious allegations of misconduct runs a significant risk of being subjected to indemnity costs if they prove unsuccessful.’ In part one, we reported on the judgment for this case, where the Ministry of Justice was found to be liable for a stress-at-work claim. We will …
Continue reading "Case Report: Marsh v Ministry of Justice [2017] EWHC 1040 (QB) (Part 2)"
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