Personal Injury and the Party Manifestos
Is there anything in the parties’ manifestos which might affect the field of personal injury? Reforms since 2010 include a new fixed costs regime, costs management/budgeting and greatly increased court fees. Civil liability has been removed for breaches of health and safety regulations. But what is being promised for the future? The Conservative Manifesto includes a pledge to reform human rights law. It would scrap the Human Rights Act and introduce a British Bill of Rights. The intention is that this will break the formal link between British Courts and the European Court of Human Rights making the Supreme Court the ultimate arbiter of human rights matters in the UK. More is said in the section on the European Union: the Bill will remain faithful to the…
Low cost Arbitration instead of expensive Civil Justice?
At a recent seminar a solicitor, with whom I was discussing the recent (rather extraordinary) hike in Court fees (see, Andrew Spencer’s blog last week), mentioned an initiative which Andrew Ritchie QC has pioneered. Arising out of concerns about recent Government “reforms” to civil justice as these deal with personal injury litigation, the initiative is a proposal for personal injury and clinical negligence claims (presently dealt with in the civil justice system that we all know and love) to be dealt with instead by means of an alternative: a low cost and relatively swift arbitration scheme (using independent PI silks as arbitrators). In common with commercial arbitration, upon appointment, the PI Arbitrator will provide the parties with relatively early assessment of and decision upon those matters…
Yoga to Help Treat Brain Injury Cases
In recent years, doctors and researchers have made a great deal of progress in development of new treatments for traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. A lot of these advances were made possible through the sacrifices of those who suffered from TBIs as result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The reason for this is that, in some ways, these wars were very different form past conflicts, especially with respect to medical treatment options for injured soldiers. In past wars, such as Vietnam, most soldiers who suffered serious head trauma did not survive. There was no way to get them the immediate medical attention necessary to treat their serious injuries. Today, soldiers who are wounded are sometimes airlifted to technologically advanced Combat Support Hospitals (CSHs) to be …
Local Standards: Don’t Let Them Cat-ch You Out
In Lougheed v On the Beach (2014) EWCA Civ 1538 the Court of Appeal reaffirmed the importance of the Claimant adducing evidence of local safety standards in the context of package holiday claims. The recent decision of the High Court of Northern Ireland in Kerr v Thomas Cook [2015] NIQB 9 provides a colourful (and not unamusing) example of the same principle being applied in a very different factual context. The Claimant and her partner travelled to Tunisia on a holiday organised by the Defendant tour operator. Whilst she was there the Claimant was attacked by a cat (not pictured) which jumped out at her from a bush, scrabbing and biting her right lower leg, which was uncovered as she was wearing shorts. After the attack the …
Teen Helps Elderly Couple Trapped in Wreckage
Teen Helps Elderly Couple Trapped in Wreckage On Saturday, a teenager from San Diego was one of the first people on the scene of a hit-and-run crash in Loma Portal. According to NBC San Diego Channel Seven News, the incident happened near the intersection of Chatsworth Boulevard and Elliot Street. The apparent two-car crash left a minivan overturned beside the roadway, and the other vehicle involved fled the scene. A witness, 18-year-old Nida Wongsri, ran over to the disabled vehicle. With another good samaritan, Nida tried to help free the elderly couple from the wreckage. It wasn’t until the Fire Department arrived that the couple was finally freed. Thankfully, they’re expected to be okay. Law enforcement officials are likely still investigating this hit…
CHP’s “Survive The Ride” Motorcycle Safety Campaign
CHP’s “Survive The Ride” Motorcycle Safety Campaign The California Highway Patrol (CHP) has recently issued a press release regarding their “Survive The Ride” motorcycle safety campaign. They are teaming up with the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to promote safety, education and increase awareness during Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. In addition to more traditional safety and enforcement efforts, the CHP is going to participate in three major motorcycle events to promote and increase safety for riders across the state. The Facts on Motorcycle Crashes in California In 2013, motorcycle crashes resulted in 475 fatalities. 13,143 people were injured in motorcycle crashes in 2013. In 2012, 467 people were killed in motorcycle crashes. There were 12,617 injured victims due to motorcycle wrecks in 2012. Motorcyclists made up approximately 14 percent of all vehicle-related fatalities in 2013. Motorcycle…
Two-Year-Old Child Injured after Falling into Cheetah Habitat
According to a recent news article form Fox News Insider, a two-year-old boy was injured when fell into the cheetah exhibit at a zoo in Cleveland. Witnesses and zoo officials say the boy’s mother was dangling him over the cheetah enclosure when she lost her grip on the child and dropped him approximately ten feet into the pit. Once the boy hit the ground, his parents quickly entered the pit themselves and came to the aid of their son. Zoo officials said the cheetahs never came anywhere near the boy or his parents, and the animal caretakers were able to free the family from the Cheetah exhibit without any problems. The boy apparently suffered what zoo officials said was a minor leg injury as result …
New law – fundamental dishonesty in PI claims
The government brought into force last week a new law preventing claimants from recovering damages for personal injury when they have been fundamentally dishonest, unless it would cause substantial injustice. In the case of Summers v Fairclough Homes Ltd [2012] UKSC 26 the claimant was injured in an accident at work and claimed more than £800,000 from his employer. Surveillance revealed him to have grossly exaggerated the effect of his injuries. At trial he was found to have fraudulently misstated the extent of his claim but the judge declined to strike out his claim and awarded £88,716. The defendant appealed and the Supreme Court held that it had jurisdiction to strike out the claimant’s statement of case but that it would only be done in exceptional…
Children’s Pajamas Recalled Over Burn Fears
When we purchase clothes for young children, we normally think about how they will fit and whether they will look good. We normally do not worry about whether they present an unreasonable risk of burn injuries due to a defective design. We don’t concern ourselves about this because we assume manufacturers of children’s clothing have followed the law and all recommended safety guidelines and do everything in their power to avoid safety risks. We also assume if a company learns of a problem, it will immediately issue a voluntary safety recall and notify the public. According to a recent news article from WFLA News, one manufacturer of children’s pajamas is recalling its products as a result of a violation of the federal flammability regulation. Officials have reported …
One-Car Injury Crash in Santa Barbara
One-Car Injury Crash in Santa Barbara On Monday afternoon, a woman was injured after her car went off an embankment in a Riviera neighborhood. According to Santa Barbara’s Noozhawk, the incident happened sometime before 8:51 a.m. near the intersection of Eucalyptus Road and Eucalyptus Circle. For currently unknown reasons, the woman’s car left the road, went down an embankment and landed in some vegetation. First responders had to hike down the embankment to rescue the injured woman. She was then transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment of moderate injuries. A portion of Eucalyptus Hill Road had to be closed until sometime around 10:00 a.m. as a tow truck driver arrived and crews worked the scene. Although very few details have been released, and we…
Fee hike implemented
Further to Ian’s post last week, court fees have been increased from today – by over 600{9c067c25ed205f086ce6001901eb13dfadc688a7aefab9f64e0c55b8c5a55872} in some cases. The Law Society have set out the arguments they are raising in support of their proposed judicial review. The most eye-catching of these is that the fee increases are “tantamount to ‘selling justice’ contrary to the principles of Magna Carta”, presuambly on the basis that the new fees will not just be covering the court’s costs of the claim, but subsidising the public purse generally. Section 29 of Magna Carta 1297 is still in force and provides: “… We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right.” Whether or not 13th Century barons had court fees in mind…
Insurers’ proposals for further reform to the PI sector
The Association of British Insurers’ website recently set out its top 10 insurance and savings priorities for the next parliamentary session. The most striking of these for personal injury lawyers is the proposal for “Modernising the civil justice system to get compensation to claimants rather than lawyers.” The ABI fleshes this out by suggesting increasing the small claims track limit for PI claims, considering a reduction in the current 3-year limitation period and using fixed legal fees to address the rise in industrial deafness claims and ensuring people suffering from asbestos related conditions get compensation quicker. Another of the ABI proposals which would also affect the PI sector is a proposal for “Cracking down on the behaviour of Claims Management Companies” by requiring them to…