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Simon Emslie investigates how insurers can strike back ‘The insurers took the view that the picture presented by these videos was so different from that presented at trial that the only inference that could be drawn was that the claimant had made a far better recovery than he had claimed and that he had deliberately …
Continue reading "Damages: Surveillance evidence"
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Paul Jones discusses when a 100% success fee applies ‘If a case settled less than 14 days before the date fixed for commencement of the trial, a 50% success fee would apply, but if the trial actually commenced, a 100% success fee would apply.’ Fixed success fees in RTA claims, accidents at work and industrial …
Continue reading "Costs: Concluded at trial"
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Susan Freeborn assesses the legal status of the fetus ‘The proposition to tackle is this: the fetus has a right to life against everyone in the world except its mother. The only person who may, with the law’s blessing, end the life of the fetus is the mother of the fetus.’ Why is it that …
Continue reading "Parental Rights: Whose baby is it anyway?"
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Andrew Hogan considers whether we have reached the end of success fees ‘The hearing before the House of Lords took place prior to the quantification of the success fees, so argument took place without the hard figures to hand.’ On 18 January 2011, the Fourth Section of the European Court of Human Rights handed down …
Continue reading "Costs: Model awards"
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Tim Petts looks at how far Everett v Comojo (UK) Ltd [2011] can take us ‘The case establishes a general duty on nightclubs to protect guests from reasonably foreseeable harm caused by other guests.’ The basic facts of this personal injury claim are sadly not uncommon, and those with experience in criminal practice (or who …
Continue reading "Knife Crime: Nightclub violence and beyond?"
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Richard Lodge reviews the court’s approach to applying Ogden Tables 1, 2 and 28 ‘Those involved in personal injury litigation will be aware that defendants routinely argue that Table 1 or 2 is the appropriate method for calculation of the life multiplier. This argument should not be assumed to be correct, however, and much depends …
Continue reading "Life Expectancy: Calculation of multipliers"
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Emma Hearn reports on service and Part 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules ‘Once a solicitor has indicated that he has instructions to accept service, the mentioning of the fax number on their letter heading means that service may be affected on them by fax. In this case neither of the firms of solicitors acting …
Continue reading "CPR: Timely delivery"
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Julian Matthews looks at the latest authorities concerning the discount rate ‘The computation of continuing losses in clinical negligence and personal injury claims is entirely dependent upon the assessment of the multiplier. Traditionally the multiplier was assessed by the courts on the basis of precedent.’ In early November 2010 the Lord Chancellor announced a review …
Continue reading "Clinical Negligence: The Damages Act 1996"
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Paul Jones considers when predictable costs apply ‘If neither fixed predictable costs nor fixed small claims track costs applied, then the only remaining option was for reasonable costs on the standard basis to be payable.’ One of the central tenets of the proposed reforms to civil legal costs is that increased use of fixed costs …
Continue reading "Costs: Recoverability"
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Simon Blackburn examines livestock owners’ legal responsibilities to the public ‘The defendant was liable for his negligence in not having properly considered the risk that his cattle posed to members of the public’ The case of McKaskie v Cameron (2009) serves as an illustration that defendants to personal injury claims are just as vulnerable when …
Continue reading "Right Of Way: Hazards of livestock"
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