THE OTHER AMENDMENT TO THE FATAL ACCIDENTS ACT 1976: COHABITEES MAY HAVE TO SHARE BEREAVMENT AWARD WITH PARENTS
There is another amendment made to the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 in relation to the people entitled to receive a bereavement award. This is quite technical, but could be important in a very limited class of cases. The amendment is…
CHANGES IN FATAL ACCIDENT ACT: STATUTORY BEREAVEMENT AWARD EXTENDED TO COHABITEES
The Fatal Accidents Act 1976 (Remedial) Order 2020 comes into force on the 6th October 2020. It extends the scope of people entitled to the statutory bereavement award, extending it to cohabitees. THE ORDER The Order inserts the term…
PROVING DAMAGES IN A FATAL CASE: THE COURT SHOULD LOOK AT THE “PRACTICAL REALITY”: WIDOW DID HAVE A FINANCIAL DEPENDENCY WHERE HUSBAND HAD RUN A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
In Rix v Paramount Shopfitting Company Ltd [2020] EWHC 2398 (QB) Mr Justice Cavangh considered and applied an important principle in fatal accident damages. The fact that the deceased person was running a successful business, and it went on trading …
FATAL ACCIDENTS 2020: A SERIES OF WEBINARS TO HELP THOSE INVOLVED IN FATAL ACCIDENTS LITIGATION
Normally at this time of year I get together with Hilary Wetherell to present a one day course on fatal accidents. There are obvious difficulties with giving lectures this year. We are instead series of webinars on the key issues…
WHEN EXPERT EVIDENCE BECOMES REDUNDANT: “WE DO NOT HAVE TRIAL BY EXPERT IN THIS COUNTRY: WE HAVE TRIAL BY JUDGE”
There is an interesting judgment on expert evidence at Domeney v Rees & Ors [2020] EWHC 2115 (QB), where Master Davis considered whether accident reconstruction evidence was necessary in relation to a trial. “We do not have trial by…
FATAL ACCIDENT ACTION NOT STRUCK OUT: CAUTION NEEDED WHEN DEALING WITH A DEVELOPING AREA OF LAW
In the judgment this morning in Begum v Maran (UK) Ltd [2020] EWHC 1846 (QB) Mr Justice Jay refused a defendant’s application to strike out a claim and/for summary damages in for fatal accident damages. It highlights the point that…
WEBINARS ON LAW, PROCEDURE AND DAMAGES: READ ALL ABOUT THEM…
Since lockdown has made giving live presentations impossible I have been involved in presenting a number of webinars. This would seem a good time to set them out. Those that have been given earlier this year are still available on…
DAMAGES IN ANTICIPATION OF DEATH: WEBINAR 8th JUNE 2020
On the 8th June I am giving a webinar on the important issues of damages in anticipation of death. This looks at damages for reduced life expectancy and the practical steps lawyers can take in these difficult and tragic cases. …
INCREASE IN FATAL ACCIDENT BEREAVEMENT AWARD FROM TODAY: A FEW THINGS TO NOTE ABOUT THE BEREAVEMENT AWARD
The bereavement award paid under the Fatal Accidents Act 2020 has increased to £15,210. However that increase only applies where the cause of action accrues on or after 1st May 2020. It has no relevance to ongoing cases, see The Damages…
THE KEY CASES IN FATAL ACCIDENT DEPENDENCY CLAIMS: WEBINAR 6th APRIL 2020
On the 6th April 2020 I am presenting a webinar “The Key Cases in Fatal Accident Dependency Claims” – concentrating upon the assessment of damages in fatal accident cases. THE WEBINAR The means of assessment of fatal accident…
PART 36, FATAL ACCIDENT CLAIMS AND PRE-ACTION SETTLEMENT: A POINT FOR BOTH CLAIMANTS AND DEFENDANTS TO WATCH
The judgment of Mr Justice Turner in Kore v Brocklebank [2019] EWHC 3491 (QB) raises some interesting issues in relation to Part 36 and fatal accident claims. It means that both claimants and defendants will have to take considerable care…
PROVING THINGS 169: WHEN THE DEFENDANT CALLS NO (LAY) EVIDENCE AND TRIES TO PROVE ITS CASE THROUGH THE CLAIMANT’S WITNESSES
There are a number of interesting aspects of the judgment of HHJ Coe in Esegbona v King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (false imprisonment in hospital) [2019] EWHC 77 (QB). One of which is the defendant’s failure to call any…
WHEN “ROBUST” CASE MANAGEMENT TURNS INTO APPARENT BIAS: HIGH COURT OVERTURNS DIRECTIONS: THE TALE OF THE ORGAN GRINDER
In Dorman & Ors v Clinton Devon Farms Partnership [2019] EWHC 2988 (QB) Mr Justice Pushpinder Saini allowed an appeal against directions made by a Circuit Judge. He also upheld an appeal against that judges refusal to recuse himself on…
DEALING WITH THE BEREAVED CLIENT: USEFUL LINKS AND GUIDANCE (2019)
This is the time of year when Hilary Wetherell and I travel round and give the APIL course on “Fatal Accidents, Practice, Procedure and Compassion”. The course deals a lot with the law and procedural aspects of fatal accidents. However…
FATAL ACCIDENTS: LAW, PRACTICE, PROCEDURE & COMPASSION: COURSES IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2019
Alongside solicitor and partner in Irwin Mitchell Hilary Wetherell I am speaking at the APIL day-long courses on fatal accidents in November and December this year, in London, Manchester and Bristol. Our emphasis is on practical knowledge and application of…
RECOVERING THE COST OF ATTENDING THE INQUEST: MUST BE BOTH RELEVANT AND PROPORTIONATE (BUT PROPORTIONALITY IS NOT JUST ABOUT MONEY)
The judgment today in Fullick & Ors v The Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis [2019] EWHC 1941 (QB) deals with the, often challenging, question of whether the costs of attending an inquest is recoverable in cases where the claimant…
FATAL ACCIDENTS 4th EDITION: WANT A FREE COPY? WHAT DOES YOUR CLIENT NEED YOU KNOW ABOUT BEREAVEMENT?
The 4th edition of Fatal Accidents was published last week. The publishers, Lexis Nexis, have several copies they can give away. I am looking for contributions (here or on Twitter) as to the most useful things that lawyers can know,…
LATEST EDITION OF THE GUIDE TO FATAL ACCIDENTS: AVAILABLE NOW
There is, I suppose, no point in having a blog if you can’t tell people about your own books. The 4th edition of the Guide to Fatal Accidents is out and in (at least one) shop window. As well as…
CIVIL PROCEDURE BACK TO BASICS 50: THE POSTS SO FAR
The “back to basics” series has been going since April 2018. It has covered a surprising amount of topics. From how to draft an application to “litigation wishful thinking”. Some people have expressed surprise and how “basic” some points are…
PROVING THINGS 151: DEPENDENCY IN A FATAL ACCIDENT ACT CLAIM: ADULT CHILD DEPENDANTS RECEIVE DAMAGES FOR FUTURE CONTRIBUTIONS TO WEDDINGS AND TOWARDS THEIR FIRST HOME
In AB v KL [2019] EWHC 611 (QB) David Edwards QC (sitting as a judge of the High Court) considered the nature of the evidence needed to establish damages under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976. It is also important both…