Items starting with B

Reasonable foreseeability. Where an employee had been injured by an exploding aerosol can in a small fire that he had kicked to put out and the employer had not carried out any risk assessment in relation to fires, the employer could not be liable in negligence as the injury that occurred was not ......

Assessment of loss of pension rights. The county court judge had failed to apply the correct principles when assessing the claimant's entitlement to damages for loss of pension rights and accordingly a fresh assessment was required. ......

In assessing damages for loss of a chance a court was entitled to assess the amount of damages likely to have been awarded at a notional trial and then discount the sum to take into account uncertainties on the issue of liability. ......

Parties and Background The respondent, Bruce Kirkpatrick, was a large goods vehicle driver for Cameron Young Transport Ltd. His licence was revoked by the second appellant, the Deputy Traffic Commissioner (DTC), in October 2010. Drivers were supposed to carry out double-manned journeys so th......

In an appeal against a finding that the claimant was 100% contributorily negligent, the issue was whether the sole director and shareholder of a company who suffers personal injury as a result of a breach by the company of the absolute obligation to maintain equipment (per the Provision and Use of ......

The Court of Appeal held that it was wrong that parties be permitted to use r.3.1(3) rather than Part 25 as a means for obtaining security for costs. An Order should not be made under r.3.1(3) to protect a defendant from being unable to enforce a judgment for costs against a personal claimant, who ......

An NHS Trust was liable for injuries inflicted on nursing staff by a patient at a high security hospital where it had not implemented a policy recommended by the Safety and Security in Ashworth, Broadmoor and Rampton Hospitals Directions 2000. Had a risk assessment of the patient been carried out i......

Costs Order: Where the claim and counterclaim both succeeded, but the quantum of the claim exceeded the counterclaim, it was held that the judge had erred in ordering the claimant to pay the costs of the counterclaim and the defendants to pay the costs of the claim. The defendants were the unsucces......

Where a school had in place a system to ensure that containers were stored away safely at the end of the day, but that system had not been followed with the result that a cleaner had fallen over a container suffering personal injury, the school was held liable under Reg.12(3) of the Workplace (Heal......

In divorce proceedings the husband became insolvent before a property adjustment order was made. The wife brought proceedings against her solicitors alleging that they had failed to take sufficient steps to advise her of the effect of bankruptcy on her ancillary relief and that she should not defer......

Expert Evidence. In proceedings against a general practitioner who had not diagnosed a condition by questions over the telephone, experts for both parties had agreed that the use of "open" questions was sufficient. The trial judge rejected both experts' evidence and found liability on the basis......

Approach to Bolitho Principle. A trial judge's approach in a trial on the issue of liability to the legal principle in Bolitho v City and Hackney Health Authority (1997) 3 WLR 1151 was correct, but he should not have embarked upon it until expert witnesses had had a proper opportunity to explain w......

Judge Entitled To Prefer Patient's Evidence To That Of GP As To Whether A Consultation Took Place:- The Court of Appeal dismissed the appellant GP's appeal against a decision giving judgment for the respondent patient in the underlying clinical negligence claim for damages arising out of......

Percentage uplift under CFA: In a personal injury claim, where the claimants had sustained serious injuries and liability was uncertain, it was held that the appropriate percentage uplift under a conditional fee agreement was 50 per cent. This figure reflected the very significant element of risk w......

C was overtaking a stationary line of traffic on his motorcycle by passing vehicles on their offside. D was stationary at the front of a line of traffic and indicating to turn right. Due to the presence of a large vehicle behind D he did not have a clear view behind him. He began to turn right and ......

Earning capacity: It was held to be appropriate to recalculate the level of damages awarded to a passenger of a vehicle who had sustained brain damage in a road traffic accident so as to take into account the finding that a higher level of earning capacity was possible. The Recorder was entitled to......

Indemnity principle. The indemnity principle had no application to the fixed recoverable costs provisions of CPR Part 45 (II), and in cases falling within CPR Part 45 (II) the receiving party did not have to demonstrate that there was a valid retainer or conditional fee agreement between the solic......