Content by Philip Turton

An interesting case came out of the Bear Garden at the end of February, which may be of interest to clinical negligence practitioners. The judgment in Read v Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2023] EWHC 367 (KB) can be read here. Ms Rianna Read developed cauda equina syndrome following a sudden disc prolapse, which led to a critical stenosis of the spinal canal. On her case, avoidable delays in her…

In a case believed to be the first of its kind, a South Wales coroner has ruled that a death from COVID-19 constitutes death from an industrial disease. The inquest, listed before the Senior Coroner for South Wales Central, and enquiring into the deaths of two nurses, Gareth Roberts and Domingo David, each of whom died…

Philip Turton, counsel for the Defendant in the case, offers an appraisal of the recent judgment of Jeremy Hyam KC, sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court, in White v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2022] EWHC 3082 (KB). The judgment can be read here. Thomas White was yet another victim of mesothelioma,…

Philip Turton reviews a recent HSE prosecution arising from a failure properly to assess vibration exposure at work. In May 2022, Westbridge Furniture Designs Limited were prosecuted by Her Majesty’s Health and Safety Executive for failure to undertake sufficient risk assessments in relation to their use of vibrating tools and failure to maintain adequate controls…

On 20 May 2022 Master Davison handed down judgment in the case of Brooks v Zurich Insurance PLC and Aviva Insurance (UK) Ltd, dismissing the Defendants’ application for summary judgment against the Claimant on the ground that he had wrongly brought proceedings against the insurers pursuant to the provisions of The Third Parties (Rights Against…

Philip Turton considers the decision of Lord Uist in the Scottish mesothelioma case of Watt v Lend Lease Construction (Europe) Ltd [2022] CSOH 23, an interesting decision from north of the border (judgment here). Nicola Watt was the widow of James Watt who died of mesothelioma in 2017. She brought a claim against his former employers, who…

It is often the case, in law, that the person who actually commits a tort lacks the means to meet a judgment or otherwise presents as an undesirable Defendant from a Claimant’s point of view. The law has long recognised the strong policy reasons behind forms of distributive justice, most obviously in the case of…

A heavyweight Court of Appeal, comprising the Master of the Rolls, the Vice President of the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) and Nicola Davies LJ has handed down judgment in the conjoined appeals of Paul v Wolverhampton NHS Trust; Polmear v Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust; Purchase v Ahmed [2022] EWCA Civ 12 (referred to, together,…

The question of who can claim for “nervous shock” is upon us again. The issue is one which has periodically ventured as far as the House of Lords, since the decision in Bourhill v Young [1943] AC 92 and, following the decision of the Court of Appeal in the conjoined cases of Paul v Royal…

On Friday 12 November 2021, HHJ Melissa Clarke, sitting as a Judge of the High Court, dismissed the claim of Terence Ward. Mr Ward sought damages for lung cancer which he contended had been caused by exposure to asbestos in the course of two periods of employment, the first with Burroughs Wellcome & Co between 1969…

On 3 November 2021 the newly appointed Ritchie J handed down his judgment in Haggerty-Garton v ICI [2021] EWHC 2924 (QB), a mesothelioma case brought in the High Court but, pursuant to a consent order agreed between the First Claimant and the Defendant, subject to Scottish law. The Claimant was the young widow of David Haggerty,…

Master Davison closed the door, firmly, on costs budgeting in the Asbestos List in Smith v W Ford & Sons (Contractors) Ltd [2021] EWHC 1749 (QB). Philip Turton reports on the decision. The judgment can be read here. It has long been the practice in the Asbestos List to dispense with costs budgeting. In living mesothelioma claims…

In May 2021, following preparation by an advisory working group of its Professional Standards Unit, the British Psychological Society, Division of Neuropsychology, published Good Practice Guidelines on the recording of neuropsychological examinations and testing under the title “Guidance on the Recording of Neuropsychological Testing in Medicolegal Settings”. The Guidance is aimed at Clinical Neuropsychologists undertaking…

In March, as part of the Ropewalk Chambers’ Spring Webinar series, Philip Turton and Katie McFarlane reviewed the law relating to secondary victims in light of the decisions in Paul v The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust [2020] PIQR P19 and Polmear v Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust [2021] EWHC 196 (QB). The webinar can be viewed…

Presented by Philip Turton and Katie McFarlane, this webinar is a review of recent case law and developments in relation to claims for injury brought by secondary victims. Agenda To view the recording of this webinar, please click here.

On 16 December 2020, Martin Spencer J handed down judgment in Young v Downey [2020] EWHC 3457 (QB), an interesting decision on secondary victims in nervous shock cases. In this blog post, Philip Turton and Katie McFarlane summarise and review the decision, which can be read here. Preamble Where a person suffers psychiatric as well as physical…

In their latest article Philip Turton and Abigail Scott provide commentary on today’s important Court of Appeal decision in Swift v Carpenter [2020] EWCA Civ 1295. To read this article, please click here.

On 2 October 2020, the American Food & Drug Administration approved a combination of nivolumab (OPDIVO, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co) and ipilimumab (YERVOY, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co) as a first-line treatment for adults with unresectable mesothelioma. Randomised open-label trials suggest an improvement in overall survival in the order of approximately 25% when compared with chemotherapy. The full announcement is…

Practice Direction 3D provides for an expedited system of civil procedure to be applied to claims for damages for mesothelioma. In practice it is now applied by the High Court Masters to all asbestos claims. One of its significant innovations is the “Show Cause” procedure. In this article, Philip Turton examines the rules which apply…

Click here to view the What is Reasonable? – Bussey, Williams & the Problem of Low Level Asbestos Exposure PDF.

Click here to view the Briefing Note – Discount Rates PDF.

Click here to view the Jolly v Harsco Infrastructure PDF.

Click here to view the Claims Arising from Ice on Private Premises PDF.

Click here to view the Claims Arising from Ice on the Highway PDF.

Click here to view the Bullock, Sanderson and All That Jazz PDF.