Councils, Privately Run Care Homes and Vicarious Liability

SKX v Manchester City Council [2021] EWHC 782 (QB) In The Catholic Child Welfare Society and others v Various Claimants [2012] UKSC 56, Lord Phillips set out that two stages are to be addressed in establishing whether a party may be vicariously liable for the torts of another: Is the…

The Court of Appeal Considers Vicarious Liability

The Trustees of the Barry Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses v BXB [2021] EWCA Civ 356 In an important contribution to the law on vicarious liability, the Court of Appeal has considered an appeal against a decision of Mr Justice Chamberlain, discussed in QMLR by Charlotte Gilmartin here. In that decision,…

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…

The Standard of Care in Pure Diagnosis Cases

Brady v Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2020] EWHC 158 (QB)  This article originally appeared in Issue 5 (May 2020). In the bulk of actions for clinical negligence, the standard of care owed to the patient is one point which attracts relatively little judicial consternation. In Brady, and cases…