Personal Liability – MOD

Constance v (1) MOD (2) Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust [2020] EWHC 3029 (QB) The Facts Mr David Lock QC sitting as a deputy Judge of the High Court held the Ministry of Defence and an NHS Trust to be liable to a former soldier whose hearing loss had been…

Article 2 Inquests and Previous Criminal Proceedings

R (on the application of Grice) v HM Senior Coroner of Brighton and Hove [2020] EWHC 3581 (Admin) The Facts Garnham J considered a judicial review of a refusal to resume an inquest into the death of Shana Grice, who had been murdered by her former boyfriend at her home…

Maughan: Suicide and Unlawful Killing Conclusions in Inquests

R (Maughan) v Her Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Oxfordshire [2020] UKSC 46 The Supreme Court has now issued its judgment in this important case for Coroners and inquests dealing with the standard of proof to be applied where the death might have been caused by suicide or unlawful killing. Everyone who…

Anonymity Orders: An Approved Template

Anonymity orders are a routine part of the working life of those practising in the field of personal injury and clinical negligence. In 2015 the Court of Appeal in JXMX v Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust [2015] EWCA Civ 96 clarified the basis on which anonymity was justified in cases…

Court of Protection Decisions on Caesarean Sections

A London NHS Trust v KB [2020] EWCOP 59 The Court of Protection granted an order to an NHS Trust permitting it to require KB to undergo a caesarean section prior to spontaneous labour in her own best interests, using proportionate restraint if necessary. As Poole J noted, although the…

Some Procedural Issues in Brief

Jarman v Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust [2020] EWHC 3238 (QB) Cherian v Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2020] EWHC 3601 (QB) Taleb (A Child Proceeding by His Litigation Friend M) v Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust [2020] EWHC 1147 (QB) When can an expert in one…

Medical Termination of Pregnancy and the Home of a Pregnant Woman

R (on the application of Christian Concern) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2020] EWCA Civ 1239 The Court of Appeal has determined that the Divisional Court was right to refuse permission to bring judicial review proceedings challenging a ministerial decision to approve “the home of a…

Equivocal Admissions and Inquest Costs

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service v Veevers [2020] EWHC 2550 (Comm) An admission of liability before an inquest can have a substantial effect on the recoverability of the family’s inquest costs. An early and full admission may extinguish them entirely. But in the cautionary case of Veevers, the High…

Quantum: Future Loss of Earnings / Dependency in Family Business Cases

Rix v Paramount Shopfitting Co Ltd [2020] EWHC 2398 (QB) Head v Culver Heating Co Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 34 These two recent cases illustrate the complexities that can arise in a situation where the injured (or deceased) person has (or had) his or her own business, with income both…

Running Obvious Risks

Mrs James v The White Lion Hotel [2021] EWCA Civ 31 In Issue 4 the first instance decision was covered. In this article, the appeal is considered. The facts The Deceased fell out of the sash window of a second-floor hotel room in the middle of the night and died.…