Forbes at Trial - CCTV helps successful defence

Forbes recently successfully acted for a retail organisation in defending a personal injury claim in which CCTV of the event played a vital role. Often CCTV is inconclusive as, for example, it does not capture the right angle or is too far away to be definitive. However, in this instance the judge accepted that it was highly persuasive.

Leasehold high rise blocks: who pays for fire safety work?

As at 31 May 2020, 455 residential blocks and public buildings over 18 metres in England had been identified as having Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding installed or previously installed - so that is the same or similar type cladding to that applied to Grenfell Tower. Of the 455 identified blocks, 300 were yet to be remediated. And 154 of the affected buildings are social housing blocks owned/managed by a local authority or housing association.

Undermining of Claimant’s evidence - case not proven

The facts

The Claimant alleged that on 3rd December 2015 at around 5pm he was walking on Acorn Road, near to the junction with Osbourne Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, when he tripped over a roadworks sign that had fallen over on the pavement.

Claimant fundamentally dishonest

The facts

The Claimant alleged that on 25th September 2015 at around 7.30pm he was out walking his dog with his brother. As they were walking along a footpath/alleyway in Pemberton, the Claimant claimed that his foot hit a raised section of paving which caused him to fall and sustain a fractured 5th metatarsal in his left foot and soft tissue injuries to his left shoulder.

As an Insurer or claims handler, even if you do not deal with the Personal Injury Portal, you need to be aware of the issues raised here for cases that start off in the portal but increase in value.

The cynic in me wonders how often claimants and their advisors have tried to use the portal process to secure an admission of liability, whilst being aware that they had a larger claim for more than the portal limit of £25000.

Roundup of HSE fines in August 2020

Simple working practices could have easily avoided these 4 accidents that resulted in fines, adverse publicity and potential personal injury claims for the companies involved.

NIHL claim was out of time

The Claimant claimed damages following the development of hearing loss and tinnitus caused by alleged exposure to excessive levels of noise during his employment as a welder with the Defendant between 2002 and 2012.

ERRA and the role of the six pack regulations

To what extent should a breach of Health and Safety Regulations affect a finding of negligence since S69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013?