B v An NHS Trust
Isaac Hogarth of 12KBW instructed by Joel Onyems of OP Law (representing the Claimant) discusses a recent case which settled at JSM. The case is of particular interest due to the arguments concerning the objective nature of the test of materiality under Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015] UKSC 11 and its interplay with Bolam principles.
Continue reading “Surgical consent case report: materiality of risk – Montgomery vs Bolam”
In this post Charles Robertshaw of 12KBW examines the recent decision of Lambert J in Duncan Harrap v Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust [2018] EWHC 1063 (QB).
A successful defendant in a clinical negligence case was penalised in costs due to vital evidence being omitted from a witness statement and only elicited for the first time during cross-examination at trial. The new evidence was fatal to the claimant’s case and led to the claim being discontinued. The court considered that the very late emergence of the new evidence was due to unreasonable conduct on the part of the defendant and, accordingly, the defendant should only recover part of its costs.
Continue reading “Paying the price for an incomplete witness statement”
In this post Ted Cunningham of 12KBW examines the recent High Court decision in NILUJAN RAJATHEEPAN v BARKING, HAVERING AND REDBRIDGE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST [2018] EWHC 716 (QB). The case highlights the importance of proper and effective communication between medical professionals and patients who do not have a good grasp of English. In circumstances where medical professionals believe that they have communicated effectively, that belief must be objectively reasonable.
In this post Rachit Buch of 12KBW examines the recent decision of Cockerill J in Razumas v Ministry of Justice [2018] EWHC 215 (QB), a case concerning two distinct issues: (i) the liability of the MOJ for negligence arising out of healthcare provided in prisons and (ii) fundamental dishonesty in relation to clinical negligence claims.
Before HM Senior Coroner Christopher P Dorries OBE, Sheffield Coroner’s Court. Narrative conclusion handed down on 11 December 2017.
Rory Badenoch represented the family of the Deceased, Kay Morrison, at a 4-day inquest into the circumstances of her death at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield on 21 June 2015. The Coroner concluded that the failure to take and act upon a proper history of multiple antibiotic treatments in the past materially contributed to her death from sepsis.
This blog is written by John-Paul Swoboda of 12KBW.
The Court of Appeal’s decision in Smith shone a light upon an inadequacy in the law which clinical negligence lawyers have long been aware of; the criteria to determine eligibility for a bereavement award pursuant to section 1A of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 is unjustifiably discriminatory. In Smith the Master of the Rolls, McCombe LJ, and Sir Patrick Elias all agreed that section 1A of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 was incompatible with article 14 (non-discrimination) and that article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) was engaged. A declaration of incompatibility pursuant to section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998 was made. Continue reading “Smith v Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust & ors [2016] EWHC 2208 (QB): the eligibility criteria for a bereavement award are inconsistent with the values of modern Britain”
In this post Vanessa Cashman of 12KBW discusses the recent decision of Yip J in Meadows v Khan [2017] EWHC 2990 (QB), a case concerning the recoverability of additional costs arising out of a disability unconnected with the negligent failure to diagnose that led to a wrongful birth.
In this post Farhana Mukith discusses the case of Shaw v (1) Kovac & (2) University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust [2017] EWCA Civ 1028, in which the Court of Appeal considered whether compensation for the unlawful invasion of a patient’s personal rights ought to be recognised as a separate and free-standing cause of action.
Continue reading “Failure to obtain informed consent: is there a free-standing right to damages?”
In this post Tim Petts of 12KBW considers the widely reported decision of Jay J in ARB v IVF Hammersmith Ltd, a sad case involving the implantation of an embryo without the consent of the father (who had previously separated from the mother) resulting in the birth of a child he did not want.
In this blog Isaac Hogarth of 12 KBW considers the the recent Jackson report on fixed costs.
In July 2017, Sir Rupert Jackson’s Review of Civil Litigation Costs: Supplemental Report, Fixed Recoverable Costs was published.
The most significant part of the report for personal injury practitioners relates to the proposed introduction of a new track, to be known as the “intermediate track”, to include personal injury claims valued at £25,000 to £100,000. Sir Rupert proposes that there be a table of fixed recoverable costs under this new track.
In relation to clinical negligence litigation, however, no concrete proposals have been put forward. Chapter 8 of the Report relates to fixed costs proposals in clinical negligence. Continue reading “What now for fixed costs in clinical negligence litigation?”
