PI & Clinical Negligence

In the wake of the Jackson Review and the Legal Services Act 2011 and the forthcoming implementation of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, the competition for personal injury work is more intense than ever. Personal injury lawyers of all kinds are under immense pressure not only to turn work around faster, but expand into what might be new and unfamiliar areas (e.g. clinical negligence or occupational disease).

LexisPSL Personal Injury is the only place where you can find all the latest practice notes, legislation, commentary, forms and precedents you need together online. Liability, quantum and procedure, all in one package.

Our clear, concise practice notes give you a succinct overview of each legal area – with direct links for deeper research to Butterworths Personal Injury and Litigation Service, All England Law Reports, Munkman on Damages and Binghams & Berrymans Personal Injury and Motor Claims Cases. We have thousands of quantum cases in one easy-to-search database, with new cases added every week. Plus 20 quantum calculators that can run highly complex calculations for you in minutes (not hours).

LexisPSL Personal Injury also comes with other time-saving tools, like medical drawings and dictionaries to keep you on the right track. And news alerts from senior PI experts, sharing their personal wisdom and practical tips (not just the bare transcript). So you can find everything you need in one place, with less research time. And take on new work, in new areas, with real confidence.

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Practice notes

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Q&As

Featured PI & Clinical Negligence content

False imprisonment

LiabilityFalse imprisonment consists of the complete deprivation of liberty without a lawful basis. Claims will in practice be made against a public...

Qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS)

What is QOCS?Qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS) was introduced on 1 April 2013 as part of the Jackson costs reforms following the removal of a...

Pain, suffering and loss of amenity

Valuing the lossHow should an injury be measured in a sum of money? After all no formula can calculate the value of the loss of an arm or of the sense...

Past loss of earnings

Common issuesClaims for loss of earnings are common in personal injury claims and are often the largest head of damages. For guidance on future loss...

Practice notes

What is fundamental dishonesty?

This Practice Note considers fundamental dishonesty both in the context of section 57 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (CJCA 2015) and the...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Psychiatric injury—primary victims

Defining the primary victimA primary victim is a claimant who was directly involved as a participant in the incident that caused their psychiatric...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Smith v Manchester awards

The nature of the awardWhere an injured person is disadvantaged in the labour market as a result of a residual disability resulting from an injury,...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Time limits under the Limitation Act 1980—personal injury claims

The Limitation Act 1980 is referred to as LA 1980.LA 1980 sets out the time limits within which claimants are entitled to bring claims of various...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Collateral benefits and double recovery

General principlesAs a general rule, a claimant must give credit for any financial gains they make that they have received as a result of their...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Was the damage foreseeable?

The concept of foreseeability and remotenessEven if the claimant proves:•that the defendant acted negligently (ie in breach of duty), and•that the...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Vicarious liability in the course of employment—the close connection test

To identify the circumstances in which a court may find an employer to be vicariously liable for a tort committed by an employee it is useful to trace...

Produced in partnership with Andrew Wilson 9th Nov

Practice notes

Qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS)—case tracker

This case tracker considers case law in relation to qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS) in order to provide some guidance on how the courts are...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Low Velocity Impact RTAs—in detail

IntroductionOver the past decade or so, motor insurers have adopted and developed a strategy for identifying and dealing with road accident personal...

Produced in partnership with Andrew Wilson 9th Nov

Practice notes

Fraud, exaggeration and LVIs in personal injury claims

DefinitionsFraudDefined in Derry v Peek as where it is shown that:'a false representation has been made (1) knowingly, or (2) without belief in its...

Produced in partnership with Andrew Wilson 9th Nov

Practice notes

Interest on general damages, special damages and judgment debt

Interest on general damagesEntitlementA claimant is entitled to simple interest at a rate the court deems fit.The rateInterest on general damages is...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Future loss of earnings—personal injury claims

NOTE: On 15 July 2019 the Lord Chancellor announced that the discount rate would change to minus 0.25% from the previous level of minus 0.75%. The new...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Misfeasance in public office

The tort of misfeasanceMisfeasance in public office is a tort that is rarely invoked in personal injury claims. It is only available against public...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Loss of congenial employment

Nature of the awardA claimant who is precluded from doing a job they enjoy is entitled to claim loss of congenial employment. This award relates...

9th Nov

Practice notes

The court’s power to extend the time limit—section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980

The Limitation Act 1980 is referred to as LA 1980.The power to disapply the primary limitation periodWhen dealing with personal injury claims that...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Claims for lost years

The claim and basis for itThis type of claim is made on behalf of a living claimant whose life expectancy has been reduced as a result of the...

9th Nov

Most recent PI & Clinical Negligence content

Q&As

What is the hourly rate that can be put in a costs application where the receiving party is a local authority and the solicitor and client rate is discounted by agreement?

Hourly ratesSolicitors can charge any hourly rate they wish for their services. However, they will not necessarily recover those rates at a costs...

28th Nov

Q&As

How can an incorrect claimant’s address on a claim form be corrected after service of the claim form?

Amending a statement of caseA party can amend its statement of case after it has been served:•with the written consent of all the parties (CPR...

28th Nov

Q&As

Is it possible to remove an entry from the Register of Judgments and Orders where a judgment has not been satisfied? What is the correct court form, fee and procedure to use?

A judgment registration can only be removed from the register if it was:•entered in error•paid before the court date•cancelled due to full payment...

28th Nov

Q&As

What is the time limit for a claimant to respond to a defendant’s application to set aside a default judgment?

If a default judgment has already been entered and the defendant wishes to defend the claim, an application should be made to set it aside. Under CPR...

28th Nov

Q&As

On a summary assessment of costs, the court will have regard to the Senior Courts Costs Office hourly rates. How is the location determined where fee earners work from home in different locations?

Solicitors can charge any hourly rate they wish for their services. However, they will not necessarily recover those rates at a costs assessment. The...

28th Nov

Q&As

Do you have copies of CPR 6 and practice directions 6A and 6B as amended after 31 December 2020?

This Q&A sets out the wording for rule 6.33, as amended by Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, SI 2019/521, reg 4, and...

28th Nov

Q&As

Do you run a remote mediation in the same way as a face-to-face mediation?

The legal and contractual principles under which a video conference (VC) mediation is conducted (eg without prejudice, confidentiality, privilege etc)...

Produced in partnership with Chris Fitton, mediator of IPOS Mediation 28th Nov

COVID-19

Q&As

A potential purchaser of a company would like the company’s privileged advice to be added to the data room. What safeguards should be put in place?

Privilege and confidentialityPrivilege is a special protection afforded to communications between lawyers (and in certain circumstances, third...

Produced in partnership with Jonathan Edwards of Radcliffe Chambers 28th Nov

Q&As

When determining the deemed date of service under CPR 6.26, does the clear day rule in CPR 2.8 need to be applied?

This Q&A refers to service of a document, other than the claim form, in the jurisdiction.When seeking to serve the document, the relevant procedural...

28th Nov

Q&As

Do I have to pay a third party intervener's costs if I withdraw an application by consent to utilise funds within the scope of a freezing order which has been objected to be the intervener?

In answering this Q&A we have assumed that this is a civil action and the issue arises due to a freezing injunction having been ordered. We also...

28th Nov

Q&As

Where a claim on the small claims track has been stayed, can the claimant apply to lift the stay? If so, is there a specific application for doing so? Does a claimant usually recover their court fee in the small claims track?

Circumstances in which a stay can be liftedThe court's power to stay proceedings may be exercised under particular statutory provisions, under the...

28th Nov

Q&As

Is it possible to amend a Part 8 claim form and a witness statement that have been issued but have not yet been served?

Amending a statement of case pursuant to CPR 17CPR 17.1(1) states:‘A party may amend his statement of case at any time before it has been served on...

28th Nov

Q&As

In considering the value of a claim which is just below £10,000, does the court take into account the fact that the court fee will take the value over £10,000 and potentially into the fast track?

Track allocation is governed by CPR 26.5–CPR 26.10. For the purposes of this question, it is assumed that specific exclusions in relation to track...

Produced in partnership with Daniel Laking of 39 Essex Chambers 28th Nov

Q&As

Are there any rules as to what a party to a case, in particular a litigant in person, is required to do with the documents that have been disclosed to them during the course of proceedings, once the proceedings are over? For example, where a defendant litigant in person has received copies of the claimant's medical records, what happens to the medical records once the case is over?

A party to whom a document has been disclosed may generally only use that document for the purpose of the proceedings in which it was disclosed. This...

28th Nov

Q&As

What is the process in civil proceedings when seeking a witness summons within seven days of the start of the trial? Would an application be required to the court? Would this need to be with or without notice?

It has been assumed in this Q&A that the question is referring to a witness summons to be issued in relation to a trial which will start in less than...

28th Nov

Q&As

What constitutes ‘reasonable copying costs’ under CPR 31.15?

Unfortunately, we are unaware of any general guidance regarding the 'reasonable copying costs' requirement under CPR 31.15.Apart from CPR 31.15(c),...

28th Nov

Q&As

Can you serve a claim form against someone where their usual residence is a static caravan? If the caravan doesn't have a postcode, would this affect the validity of the service?

ServiceService of the claim form on an individual can be effected by various methods, including leaving it with the individual and leaving it at the...

Produced in partnership with David Willink of Lamb Chambers 28th Nov

Q&As

To what extent does an appeal of disclosure provisions within a directions order made at a CMC automatically stay the other directions in that order? What steps can and/or should the party take so as to stay that case management order pending the outcome of the appeal?

Stay of proceedingsIn general, neither the commencement of an appeal nor the grant of permission to appeal affects the enforceability of the material...

28th Nov

Q&As

Will the 10% increase in damages after 1 April 2013 apply where there is a CFA in place entered into prior to 1 April 2013?

The 10% increase in general damages in all civil claims decided after 1 April 2013 does not apply if the case is funded by way of a pre-commencement...

28th Nov

Q&As