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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 Pre-action content

Practice notes

Motor claims in the Portal—a practical guide (Stage 2 onwards)

The pre-action protocol for low value road traffic accident claims—30 April 2013 onwardsTHIS PRACTICE NOTE ONLY CONTAINS PROVISIONS EFFECTIVE AS AT 30...

Produced in partnership with Sue Brown 25th Sep

Practice notes

The Pre-action Protocol for Resolution of Package Travel Claims and fixed costs—7 May 2018 onwards

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

25th Sep

Practice notes

Part 36 offers in PI and clinical negligence claims

Note: This Practice Note is relevant only to Part 36 offers as considered under CPR 36 in force as from 6 April 2015. For offers made prior to this,...

Produced in partnership with Andrew Wilson 25th Sep

Practice notes

Rehabilitation Code 2015

A third version of the Rehabilitation Code was published in September 2015 and became substantially operational on 1 December 2015.For the...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Admissions—pre-action

This Practice Note deals with admissions prior to the issue of the claim form. For information on admissions after issue of the claim, see Practice...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Pre-action disclosure—the application

This Practice Note provides guidance on CPR 31.16 pre-action disclosure applications, where the applicant and respondent are likely to be parties to...

25th Sep

Practice notes

The Scottish Personal Injury Pre-Action Protocol

BackgroundIn 1995, Lord Woolf at the outset of his review into the civil justice system of England and Wales identified that the key problems were...

26th Sep

Scottish Law

Practice notes

All Scotland Personal Injury Court ‘ASPIC’

The Court’s background and nameSection 41 of the Court Reforms (Scotland) Act 2014 (‘The Act’) gave to Scottish Ministers the power to provide, by...

26th Sep

Scottish Law

Practice notes

The pre-action personal injury protocol—pre-6 April 2015 [Archived]

THIS PRACTICE NOTE DEALS WITH PROVISIONS EFFECTIVE FROM 1 APRIL 2013. FOR CLAIM NOTIFICATION FORMS SENT ON OR AFTER 6 APRIL 2015, PLEASE REFER TO THE...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Rehabilitation Code 2007 [Archived]

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note covers the Rehabilitation Code 2007. This code has now been updated. For details of the revised code, see Practice Note:...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Whiplash or soft tissue injury claims

Whiplash claims (also commonly referred to as soft tissue injury claims) are caused by an impact to a vehicle, which results in its sudden...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Motor claims in the Portal—a practical guide (Stage 1)

The pre-action protocol for low value road traffic accident claims — 30 April 2013 onwardsTHIS PRACTICE NOTE ONLY CONTAINS PROVISIONS EFFECTIVE AS AT...

Produced in partnership with Sue Brown 26th Sep

Practice notes

EL/PL claims in the portal—a practical guide (Stage 2 onwards)

This Practice Note aims to provide an overview of the Pre-action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers’ Liability and Public Liability)...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Pre-action behaviour in non-protocol cases (pre-6 April 2015) [Archived]

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is for historical reference. It considers pre-action behaviour in non-protocol cases under the Practice...

26th Sep

Practice notes

The pre-action protocol for disease and illness claims

This protocol applies to all personal injury claims where the injury is not the result of an accident but instead a disease or illness.Where a single...

26th Sep

Practice notes

EL/PL claims in the portal—a practical guide (Stage 1)

This Practice Note provides an overview of the Pre-action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers’ Liability and Public Liability) Claims...

26th Sep

Practice notes

The pre-action protocol for low value road traffic accident claims—pre 30 April 2013 [Archived]

THIS PROTOCOL ONLY APPLIES TO LOW VALUE RTA CASES WHERE THE CLAIM NOTIFICATION FORM IS SUBMITTED TO THE DEFENDANT'S INSURERS BEFORE 30 APRIL 2013.The...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Pre-action admissions under CPR 14 in personal injury cases

Note: this Practice Note deals with admissions prior to the issue of the claim form. For information on admissions after issue of the claim, see...

26th Sep

Precedents

Letter to client about experts

Private & confidential[insert name and address of client][insert date]Dear [insert name of client][insert case heading]As we have already discussed,...

26th Sep

Precedents

Letter of notification in clinical negligence matters from 6 April 2015

ToDefendantDear [insert organisation name]Letter of NotificationRe: [Claimant’s Name, Address, DoB and NHS Number]We have been instructed to act on...

26th Sep