Establishing legal liability

View PI & Clinical Negligence by content type:

Practice notes

Precedents

Q&As

Featured PI & Clinical Negligence content

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

False imprisonment

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

Practice notes

Motor insurance

Brexit: The UK's departure from the EU on exit day, ie 31 January 2020, has implications for practitioners considering road traffic accidents. For...

26th Oct

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 23rd Oct

Practice notes

CRU certificates—recoverable benefits and lump sum payments

Separate legislation covers the recovery of NHS charges. For guidance on requesting and challenging a certificate of NHS charges, see Practice Note:...

9th Oct

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,...

2nd Oct

Practice notes

Personal injury experts

Expert witnesses are instructed in personal injury claims to provide an opinion on medical and non-medical technical issues within their field of...

Produced in partnership with Ian Huckstepp of IRH Solicitors 1st Oct

Practice notes

Psychiatric injury—secondary victims

What is a secondary victim?A primary victim is a claimant who was directly involved as a participant in the incident that caused their psychiatric...

26th Sep

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...

26th Sep

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...

26th Sep

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...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Provisional damages

Background and frameworkPurpose of a provisional damages awardWhen the court makes a once and for all lump sum award, it is designed to cover both...

26th Sep

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...

26th Sep

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...

26th Sep

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...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Catastrophic injury claims—heads of claim

NOTE: On 15 July 2019 the Lord Chancellor announced that the discount rate would change to minus 0.25%. The new discount rate came into effect on 5...

25th Sep

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...

25th Sep

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...

25th Sep

Most recent Establishing legal liability content

Practice notes

Breach of the duty of care in personal injury claims

The reasonable person testOnce a court has determined that a common law duty of care exists between the parties, the next stage is for the claimant to...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Did the breach of duty cause damage?—personal injury claims

Establishing the causal linkThe starting point in establishing the causal link is the 'but for' test, which requires the court to consider: but for...

25th Sep

Practice notes

The duty of candour

In June 2010, a full public inquiry into the Mid Staffordshire Foundation NHS Trust was announced. This was following concerns about standards of care...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Burden of proof in personal injury claims

Balance of probabilitiesThe claimant must prove that, on the balance of probabilities, the defendant has been negligent or has breached their...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Assumption of risk in sports and leisure claims

Many sports and leisure activities carry an inherent risk of injury. Participating in an extreme sport or leisure activity can make it alluring and...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Breach of statutory duty and the overlap with the common law

On 1 October 2013, section 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (ERRA 2013) re-wrote section 47 of the Health and Safety at Work etc...

25th Sep

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...

25th Sep

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...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Personal injury claims and the Criminal Justice and Courts Act

The main aim of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (CJCA 2015) is to make provision about how offenders are dealt with before and after...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Group Litigation Orders—introduction

What is a group litigation order?Multiple claims can be managed by the court under a group litigation order (GLO). GLOs may be made, before or after...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Did the claimant consent to the risk of injury?

The essence of a defence of volenti non fit injuria (‘to a willing person, no injury is done’) is that the claimant understands the danger of the...

26th Sep

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...

26th Sep

Practice notes