Legal Article
20/12/23
Following on from the rather controversial decision of the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court have handed down Judgment in HXA v Surrey County Council and YXA v Wolverhampton City Council [2023] UKSC 52 confirming the position that there is no assumption of responsibility and thereby no duty of care…
Legal Article
13/12/23
Many businesses within the retail or leisure industry will own or control outside spaces in addition to their more obvious internal premises but when are you liable for ensuring that the outside spaces you own or control are safe? You may assume that the answer is always but in fact the law is not so…
Legal Article
13/12/23
The focus of product liability literature is often on manufacturers but, whilst retailers may often be able to escape liability due to the provisions of s. 2 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987, there are still scenarios in which a retailer may be found liable. As such it is sensible to ensure that you…
Legal Article
13/12/23
Security guards are a common sight to us all in either retail or leisure settings, particularly by entrances and exits of such businesses, but this role can often be associated with more specific risks that are less associated with other roles and functions, given their requirement to oversee the…
Legal Article
13/12/23
But rather than just being a famous Game of Thrones motto, this phrase should also be a reminder that now is a key time to consider the preparation for your business with regards to winter weather risks. These types of issue arise each year but accidents continue to take place and claims succeed. It may…
Legal Article
13/12/23
As you may have seen within the press or on our website the rules in respect of costs in civil matters changed in October 2023. My colleague Siobhan Hardy issued an article in October summarising the changes which is linked here but by way of brief summary fixed costs now apply for civil cases up to a…
Legal Article
13/12/23
All industries can be affected by work related upper limb disorders, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, repetitive strain injury, tennis elbow and many more, making it one of the most common causes of workplace sickness. In 2022 alone there were 470,000 workers reported to be suffering from musculoskeletal…
Legal Article
01/12/23
It has been announced by the Master of the Rolls that the Guideline Hourly Rates (GHR) are due to rise in January 2024. The new rates set out below will apply to work carried out from the 1 January 2024. The previous rates are in brackets. Grade Fee Earner London 1…
Legal Article
30/11/23
It has been announced by the Master of the Rolls that the Guideline Hourly Rates (GHR) are due to rise in January 2024 and will apply to work carried out from the 1 January 2024. So far the actual figures have not been set so watch this space for more details. They are expected in the next couple of…
Legal Article
29/11/23
As we have reported before , a new regime for Fixed recoverable Costs came into effect on the 1 October 2023. The general rule is that it applies to cases worth up to £100 000 issued on or after that date. But for personal injury claims it will apply to causes of action arising on or after the…
Legal Article
10/10/23
The debate on introducing legislation for the mandatory use of cycle helmets continues. According to the latest statistics from the DfT, there were 16,294 reported road traffic accidents involving pedal cyclists in 2020. Pedal cyclist casualties in 2020 stood at 12,472, with 141 fatalities, 4,…
Legal Article
10/10/23
Many of us will be familiar with the content of the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury and in particular Annex C which sets out the standard disclosure lists that a Defendant must consider when formulating a response to a new claim under the pre-action protocol. Currently the protocol sets out…
Legal Article
10/10/23
A waste management firm has been fined a total of £3 million following the deaths of two workers in separate incidents. Michael Atkin and Mark Wheatley died following incidents in 2019 and 2020 respectively. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated both incidents and…
Legal Article
06/10/23
From 1 October 2023, fixed recoverable costs (FRC) have been updated and extended across the fast track and in a new intermediate track for cases with values of up to £100,000 damages by way of implementation of The Civil Procedure (Amendment No 2 Rules). The new intermediate track has been…
Legal Article
03/10/23
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued guidance that makes clear that organisations "will not get in trouble" if they share information to protect children and young people at risk of serious harm. The commissioner has thus addressed concerns from organisations and…
Legal Article
15/09/23
The Court of Appeal has ruled in the case of MXX v a Secondary School, dismissing the claimant's appeal against a finding that the school was not vicariously liable for sexual assaults against her by a work placement student. The background. The defendant is a co-educational secondary…
Legal Article
01/09/23
As you will no doubt be well aware by now, the Government have instigated some emergency school closures due to the potential failure of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in school buildings. For details of what has led to this and access to useful links about the current situation see our…
Legal Article
01/09/23
As the parent of a school aged child I, like many other parents, teachers and those employed in education was gearing up for the return to school next week. Concentrating on pulling together the correct uniform, purchasing a multitude of coloured pens and trying to find the PE bag. What I suspect none…
Legal Article
18/08/23
Plymouth City Council has been fined £200,000 after its failures led to employees developing hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). During 2017 - 2019, two council employees developed HAVS and a further four were diagnosed with CTS as a result of prolonged and…
Legal Article
18/08/23
On the 6 July 2023 the HSE published the work related fatality figures. They report that one hundred and thirty-five workers were killed in work-related incidents in Great Britain in the last year. The industries with the highest deaths were construction (45), agriculture, forestry, and fishing (…
Legal Article
18/08/23
Many personal injury claims are dealt with under a fixed costs regime, with many more due to be brought into an extended fixed recoverable costs regime from the 1 October 2023. This limits the ability for defendants to challenge claimants' costs. That said there are still opportunities to make…
Legal Article
18/08/23
Health and Safety enforcement regrettably tends to follow tragic or serious incidents. In this tragic case, a prosecution was brought by Leeds City Council following the tragic death of a three year old who drowned when he was visiting the David Lloyds Leisure Club with his father and sister in…
Legal Article
18/08/23
We will never know if the claimant in a recent claim we defended was fundamentally dishonest, but we certainly had our suspicions. And when his claim was struck out and he paid our client's legal costs in full it only reinforced our concerns. We defended a claim brought by a local authority…
Legal Article
18/08/23
The Human Rights Act 1998 ('HRA') explores that an Article 2 Inquest requires the state to carry out an enhanced investigation into the death of an individual, taking into the issue the wider circumstances that surround an individual's death. It is most common when the individual who dies is…
Legal Article
10/08/23
David Lloyd Leisure Club Limited has pleaded guilty to a health and safety offence after a three-year-old boy accidentally drowned in a pool at the firm's leisure club in Moortown, Leeds in April 2018 . The company was fined £2.55m and ordered to pay £258,000 in costs at Leeds Crown…
Legal Article
09/08/23
DJ v Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council & AG (DJ) [2023] EWHC 1815 On 18 July 2023, Mrs Justice Lambert handed down her judgment in DJ v Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council & AG (DJ). This appeal case evaluated whether a Local Authority can be held vicariously liable for the tortious…
Legal Article
04/08/23
The High Court has recently approved a damages settlement in a claim arising from sexual abuse of a child, whilst attending a play centre, by an employee of that facility. The case is ERS (a protected party by Mrs, her mother and Litigation Friend) v Kids (Charity No. 275936). Background…
Legal Article
29/06/23
A redress scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse is to be launched in England, to "recognise the trauma victims have suffered", the Government announced in late May. The scheme arises out of one of the recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). The…
Forbes News
27/06/23
A pedestrian who tried to sue council over a fall in the street is hit with a legal bill over £10,000. Flintshire County Council is set to recoup all their legal costs which they had incurred in defending a personal injury claim after a court found a pothole claim was 'fundamentally…
Forbes News
23/06/23
On the 28 May 2021 HM Courts and Tribunals Service launched the Damages Claims Pilot supported by Practice Direction PD 51ZB. It provides a Damages Claims Portal (DCP) for the issuing of proceedings covered by PDZB. On the 4 April 2022 it became mandatory for legally represented claimants in such claims…
Legal Article
23/06/23
In what could have been a straightforward claim arising as a result of a trip on a raised paving flag in the garden of her tenanted properly, a dishonest claimant has found herself with an award of costs against her of £4250. The claimant brought a claim against our Social Housing client…
Legal Article
23/06/23
Chelmsford City Council has been fined £80,000 after a father-of-three died when he was struck by a bin lorry after being hit by the rear and underside of a reversing bin lorry. The employee was working as a loader operative for Chelmsford City Council at the time of the incident. The Health…
Legal Article
09/06/23
In January this year we reported on the Court of Appeal's decision to allow Claimants in RTA claims to be compensated separately for whiplash and other injuries. This week the Supreme Court have granted permission to the ABI to challenge that decision. This is a welcome decision for motor…
Legal Article
02/06/23
On Wednesday 17 May 2023, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgement in AB v Worcestershire County Council and Birmingham City Council dismissing the Claimants appeal and upholding the deputy High Court Judge Obi's decision to give summary judgment to both defendants. Fact of the Case…
Legal Article
02/06/23
Well, it took slightly more than the 6 months committed to but the Government have now responded to the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. The responses still lack detail and clarity with regards to the specific changes and actions, particularly with regards to the issues…
Legal Article
03/05/23
"If I dedicate a way to the public which is full of ruts and holes, the public must take it as it is". So held Willes J in the 1867 case of Gautret v Egerton. It remains the position, most notably held in the case of Gorringe v Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council [2004] 1WLR1057, [2004]…
Forbes News
03/05/23
As recent news headlines have repeatedly reminded us living costs have been rising over the past year, with the conflict in Ukraine, Brexit and the global recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic putting pressure on prices. According to the Office of National Statistics in the UK, the price of…
Legal Article
03/05/23
Forbes Solicitors has announced 11 new promotions across a range of its specialisms including employment, insurance, contentious trusts & probate, commercial property, crime, housing & regeneration, and commercial litigation. The promotions, which are effective from 1 May, will create two…
Legal Article
02/05/23
According to the HSE slips and trips are the most common cause of accidents at work, as well as injuries to the public. They also account for 40% of the major injuries reported to the HSE. As such the prevention of such incidents could provide major savings to any business. Unsurprisingly the main…
Legal Article
27/04/23
On 26th April 2023, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment in the case of Trustees of the Barry Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses (Appellant) v BXB (Respondent) [2023] UKSC 15. This judgment provides clarity on the law relating to vicarious liability and sexual abuse. Ultimately, the…
Legal Article
26/04/23
Shea Ryan died after falling down a manhole on a construction site, which was part of a surface water management project being carried out adjacent to a residential area on behalf of the city council. The 10-year-old was out playing with his friends on the evening of 16 July 2020 when he bypassed…
Legal Article
23/03/23
When is an inspection regime of floor checks every 10-15 minutes insufficient to cover an occupier's duty under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957? When the accident location is a busy city centre bar on a weekend according to His Honour Judge Hedley at Leicester County Court! Perhaps unsurprisingly…
Legal Article
15/03/23
"April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain." From The Wasteland by T.S. Eliot On 6th April 2023 changes to the rules of court concerning Qualified One Way Costs Shifting (QOCS) will usher in a major…
Legal Article
28/02/23
The manufacturing sector features as one of the industries which accounts for a high percentage of workplace accidents. The latest HSE annual work related ill health and injury statistics for 2021/22 noted that the manufacturing industry was the second highest for number of deaths, with the number of…
Legal Article
16/02/23
Vicarious liability came back before the court at the end of last year in a case which provided a good reminder of the applicability of this important legal principle. The judgment sets out a useful guide to the key case law on this issue, as well as providing a summary of the issues to be addressed. In…
Legal Article
30/01/23
Recent prosecutions are showing the increasing trend of accidents on construction and depot sites, where workers are struck with moving vehicles leading to either fatalities or serious injury. The HSE are more likely to proceed to enforcement action when there are significant failures in systems and…
Legal Article
26/01/23
It has long been considered the norm for schools, and places of work, to require their pupils and/or employees to adhere to a uniform policy. Indeed, I and many of my peers remember being told at school that we couldn't wear nail polish or wear our tie too short etc. One aspect of uniform…
Legal Article
17/01/23
When American Scientist Charles F Brush invented the first turbine to harness the power of the wind to generate electricity, he might not quite have appreciated that, over 130 years later, hundreds of migratory birds would meet their doom by absent-mindedly piling into the blades of modern iterations of…
Legal Article
06/01/23
Cleveland Fire Authority recently pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety At Work Act 1974 after the Health and Safety Executive found that they had not assessed the risks posed by a training exercise in which a firefighter sustained significant injuries to his legs. The…
