October 2021 Contents
 Welcome to the October 2021 issue of PI Brief Update Law Journal. Click the relevant links below to read the articles. CPD Note that there are no new monthly CPD quizzes since the SRA and the BSB have both updated their CPD schemes to eliminate this requirement. Reading PIBULJ articles can still help to meet your CPD needs. For further details see our CPD Information page.
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| Personal Injury Articles | |
 FREE CHAPTER from 'A Practical Guide to Personal Injury Fixed Costs in Portal and Ex-Portal Cases' by Alexander Mellis Fixed costs in personal injury are supposed to be straight forward, avoid the need for time spent on assessment and control the level of costs payable by Defendants. Whilst it usually secures those aims, there are gaps, lacunas, nuances and specific interpretations which any practitioner - be it solicitor, CILEX, paralegal, counsel or, dare I say, judge - should know... |
 Covey v Harris [2021] EWHC 2211 (QB) - Rochelle Powell, Temple Garden Chambers & Rebecca Henshaw The Defendant was successful in amending his defence to plead a positive case of fundamental dishonesty, as it was both sensible and in keeping with the overriding objective to do so, and had not prejudiced the Claimant... |
 Children and contributory negligence: Khadija Alabady (a minor by her litigation friend Fatima Alabady v Muhammad Ali Akram [2021] EWHC 2467 (QB) - Rochelle Powell, Temple Garden Chambers & Rebecca Henshaw The case concerned the trial of a preliminary issue to determine whether a 9-year-old Claimant was contributorily negligent, and if so, the level of any consequent apportionment... |
 West v Burton [2021] EWCA Civ 1005 - Fixed Costs & Disbursements Payable Under The Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers The appeal in West v Burton concerned the fixed costs and disbursements payable under the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents ('the Protocol'). The Court of Appeal framed the issue at the heart of the matter in this way: where a person gives notification of a claim under the Protocol but thereafter dies before its conclusion and... |
 Elgamal v Westminster City Council [2021] EWHC 2510 (QB) - A Decision Considering CPR 36.17 Where There Had Been Exaggeration But Not Fundamental Dishonesty - Nicholas Dobbs, Temple Garden Chambers The judgment in Elgamal v Westminster City Council is likely to be of interest to practitioners for its discussion of the interpretation and application of the law relating to fundamental dishonesty (an update on that will follow shortly). The judgment is also of interest in so far as it addresses the costs consequences in circumstances where... |
 Findings of Fact in Mesothelioma Case - Jim Hester, Parklane Plowden Chambers This is another case where the court (and parties) have had to consider findings of fact in relation to historic events, in this case with respect to a fatal mesothelioma claim. Jackman v Harold Firth [2021] EWHC 1461 (QB) per HHJ Bird, sitting as a Judge of the High Court... |
| Medico-Legal Articles, Edited by Dr Hugh Koch | |
 Legal Mind Case and Commentary No. 36: Levels of Unreliability in Chronic Pain - [Koch HCH, Jansen F, Grace J, Gill I and Huntley F, October 2021] Neil Rose (Legal Futures) reported a case in which a claimant had exaggerated the impact of an injury and its ramifications. The High Court ruled that the judge was right to find that the claimant who exaggerated the effects was not fundamentally dishonest. The issues surrounding exaggeration and unreliability especially in cases where chronic pain is involved are discussed... |
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| Clinical Negligence Medicine by Dr Mark Burgin | |
 Medical Opinions in Housing Disrepair Cases - Dr Mark Burgin Dr. Mark Burgin BM BCh (oxon) MRCGP discusses how a solicitor prepares the evidence for a medical expert writing a report on the effect of damp on health... |
 Proving Mould Related Claims for PI - Dr Mark Burgin Dr. Mark Burgin BM BCh (oxon) MRCGP explains that the medical expert approaches causation in mould related illness by comparison with the approach in RTA cases... |
![Appeal judge rules that credit hire company has no costs liability following a finding of fundamental dishonesty in personal injury case: RSA v. Fastrack Solutions Limited [2023] 4 WLUK 92 - David Bowden, Erimus Chambers](/content/images/resized/images/stories/carkeys_72_72.jpg)
