Blogs Archive

The area of fatal accident claims is wide and occasionally very complicated. An understanding of the principles and the cases that historically have shaped the Court’s approach is necessary. It is an area in which once the statutory provision is understood, a ‘feel’ for what the Court will think appropriate in each fact-specific case is…

In R (on the application of (1) Aviva Insurance Ltd (2) Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd) v The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2020] EWHC 3118 (Admin), the Claimants challenged the unintended and onerous consequences of the Compensation Recovery Unit scheme, particularly in respect of the Claimants’ liabilities for long-tail asbestos-related diseases. The High…

The seminal case of Bolton v Stone [1951] AC 850 concerned a Claimant on a residential side road who was hit by a ball struck by a batsman on an adjacent cricket ground. The claim ultimately failed. Some 67 years later, the Claimant in Lewis v Wandsworth London Borough Council was walking along the boundary path of a cricket…

The coronavirus pandemic has transformed the way many of us work. This blog post primarily considers the potential implications of home working on occupational stress claims by looking closely at the key case law in this area. Some observations are also offered as to the impact of the pandemic on occupational stress claims where an…

It may be recalled that we previously blogged on asbestos in schools in June 2020. In that feature, we reported that the Department for Education’s survey, launched in 2018, had revealed that some 87% of the schools that responded  confirmed that they had asbestos in at least one location on their sites. As such, lobbying of…

The Court of Appeal has refused the Claimant permission to appeal the decision of Martin Spencer J in Holmes v S&B Concrete Ltd [2020] EWHC 2277 (QB). Philip Godfrey analysed that decision in an earlier blog post, which can be viewed here.  Permission to appeal was refused on the papers on 17 November 2020 by Floyd…

Jack McCracken and Sarah Hopkinson revisit the question of liability for COVID-19 infections, this time from an American perspective. In May 2020, we published a series of five articles exploring the potential liability of employers arising from exposure of employees to COVID-19. Whilst it is unlikely that any claims arising out of exposure to COVID-19 have yet been…

This is a brief guide to identifying the correct Defendant(s) in RTA claims. We will consider the position of the Defendant tortfeasor, the hierarchy of claims that can be brought against the tortfeasor’s insurer and when claims are correctly to be intimated against the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB). There will always be exceptions to the…

By a majority of three to two, the Supreme Court has held that the standard of proof for findings of suicide and unlawful killing at an inquest is the balance of probabilities: R (Maughan) v Her Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Oxfordshire [2020] UKSC 46. This is contrary to the general understanding prior to this case…

A recent decision of particular importance to those involved in claims against Highway Authorities – particularly such claims as engage the Authority’s duty under s. 41(1A) of the Highways Act 1980 (“the Act”) – is Smithson v (1) Lynn (2) North Yorkshire County Council [2020] EWHC 2517 (QB). HHJ Gosnell (sitting as a Deputy High Court…

Last month nothing happened and that matters. The International Conference on Concussion in Sport (organised by the Concussion in Sport Group) is a key meeting at which, on a broadly quadrennial basis, a group of approximately 40 experts explore and review the developments in sports related concussion injuries. The 6th Conference was due to take…

The Court of Appeal’s decision in Diriye v Bojaj [2020] EWCA Civ 1400 is of significance to all civil practitioners, and credit hire practitioners in particular. It considered (i) the proper pleading of allegations of impecuniosity in credit hire cases, (ii) whether the Royal Mail “Signed For 1st Class” service is caught by the deeming provision…