Forget primary and secondary victims.  Are we losing sight of who is really responsible for unhappy incidents that befall claimants in the rush to find a secondary wrongdoer who is more likely to be insured or capable of being publicly admonished?  The Court of Appeal has recently overturned the trial judge in the case of Vaile v LB Havering [2011] EWCA Civ 246.  The claimant teach... [Continue Reading]

A personal injury claim in Chambers has just come to its conclusion (it is hoped) with the defendant’s successful appeal from a district judge to the circuit judge.  The district judge had held the defendant county council liable for the claimant’s unusual highway tripping injury, but on appeal that decision was overturned.  The claimant had been walking home in the early ho... [Continue Reading]

 Mrs Justice Cox has reminded us of the test and standard to be applied in applications for committal for contempt of court arising out of allegedly fraudulent personal injury claims.  In Montgomery v Brown [2011] EWHC 875 the Defendant made a range of allegations that C had lied about a substantial loss of earnings claim.  Mrs Justice Cox confirmed the test that a pe... [Continue Reading]

I’ve long believed that knitting is a rather odd pursuit. I learnt in childhood that the results rarely justify the hours of effort: misshapen Christmas presents and unwanted scarves still litter cupboards at home. However, I didn’t believe that knitting was actually dangerous. It seems that I was wrong. As a result of a recent Supreme Court decision we now know that knitting – a... [Continue Reading]

Do you remember Barry Bucknell?   He was the London builder who became one of the first television DIY experts. He presented the television series “Barry Bucknell's Do It Yourself" which at its peak attracted 7 million viewers. Most of what I know about Formica I learnt from Barry.   I was thinking of Barry when I was reading a Schedule which included a claim for “DIY”.... [Continue Reading]

The Claimant suffered very significant injuries at 8 months old which have left her with life long cognitive and physical impairments. The Defendant admitted liability, including causation, at an early stage.  Proceedings have been issued and, thus far, there has been a great deal of co - operation between the parties. Indeed, this even extended to agreement in respect of (1) a substanti... [Continue Reading]