Cause and Effect; the Anatomy of Liability

I recently found myself at trial, facing a man who had hit himself with a sledgehammer.

Not a likely basis for a personal injury claim, you might think, and you are probably right.  However, somewhere along the line two things happened; the Claimant decided that it probably wasn’t his fault, and a Lawyer agreed with him.  Turns out that they were both wrong as he lost the trial, but it did get me thinking that causation is not greatly understood, even by some Lawyers.

Let me give you some background.  The Claimant was an experienced Carpenter with a specialism in formwork.  He was working on a site run by a Joint Venture partnership as Principal Contractor.  He was tasked with connecting formwork panels and, as he was doing so, he came across a slightly defective panel; the edge had clearly been knocked and contained a kink.  Given that the panels had to fit together perfectly, the defective panel was unsuitable.

Rather than reject it and take a new one, the Claimant decided to straighten the edge using a 14lb sledgehammer.

How Can 'Build Information Modelling' Benefit Your Business?

Build information modelling (BIM) is a relatively new phenomenon in the United Kingdom, and involves the storing of information relevant to the architecture, construction and operation of a building in electronic form. BIM originated in the United States, though as a result of numerous government initiatives, it is now implemented within all government procured construction projects as a matter of course. Across the private sector, BIM is also becoming more prominent, with its recent inclusion within JCT contracts and professional appointment deeds now commonplace.

Health and Safety Considerations within Commercial Leases

Contained within most commercial leases will usually be a clause that is referred to as "compliance with laws". The purpose of this clause is to determine the responsibility of adherence with the particular rules and regulations that relate to the property and its use, and more often than not, lean the responsibility onto the Tenant.

IR35 Tax Changes Due to Hit the Private Sector in 2020

As of April 2020, the Government are rolling out the off-payroll tax changes made to the public sector to medium and large sized private companies. In April 2017, the Government replaced the original IR35 legislation with new off-payroll tax affecting the public sector. The change puts the onus on the 'end user', essentially the 'hirer', for establishing whether the contractor falls inside or outside of the new IR35 off-payroll tax. If IR35 applies, the hirer, agency or other third party who pays the contractor is required to deduct tax and NICs and report to HMRC.

The legislation is designed to prevent tax avoidance. It is aimed at targeting individuals who should in reality be classed as employees as opposed to contractors, and are paying a lower level of tax as contractors than they would as employees. It affects contractors who provide services to companies through an intermediary, such as a limited company, but who would otherwise be an employee if the intermediary was not used. The intermediary in most cases is a company set up by the 'contractor', although partnerships and managed service companies can also be used.