A North Somerset man has received a six-figure sum in compensation after a mistake during an operation on his heart led to him having to have a pacemaker fitted. Steve Edwards, 51, an NHS manager from Weston-super-Mare, was undergoing treatment for an...
The scheme set up by the Government to assess the value of Northern Rock shares, for the purposes of deciding whether or not compensation was due to shareholders, concluded that without government support the shares would be valueless. A group of...
Most people probably do not realise that a highway authority’s responsibility for keeping the roads safe to use is very limited. In practical terms, so many things can happen to a road that it would be unreasonable for the authority to be responsible...
It is well known that in the UK, the loser in a court case pays the legal costs of the winner. It is often assumed that if, say, your legal costs are £5,000 and you win your case, you will get the £5,000 reimbursed. However, this is normally not...
A landowner’s duty of care with regard to land used by members of the public was the subject of a recent case in the High Court . The limits of legal responsibility in such circumstances are established generally by the law of tort (civil injury to...
The High Court has upheld a challenge by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to various terms found in some gym membership contracts – most notably lengthy minimum membership periods – ruling that such terms are unfair and therefore unenforceable....
As part of the Government’s bid to tackle the growth of a ‘compensation culture’, the Ministry of Justice has announced that the payment of referral fees in personal injury cases is to be banned. At present, referral fees are commonly paid...
Damage by animals is not common, despite the lurid headlines one sees in the popular press. However, if your animal does cause damage or injury to someone else, what is the extent of your liability? As well as a remedy in tort (the general law of damages),...
With all the recent publicity surrounding the proposed changes to the ‘no win, no fee’ regime, another set of proposals, which may well be of greater importance to many people, has slipped under the radar of the popular press. A new...
A ‘McKenzie Friend’, named after the case which established the legal principles in 1970, is a person who assists another person in legal proceedings in open court when the person who is party to the proceedings requires support – for...
Not many prosecutions are brought under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 , which are designed to protect consumers from the activities of unscrupulous traders. Recently, however, several companies were taken to court by the...
Insurance giant AXA has sent out a message to accident cheats that it will resist claims which it believes to be fraudulent. In a recent case , the insurer took court action over a relatively small claim of £1,500. Alleging that the claim had been...
In a groundbreaking decision , the Supreme Court has ruled that an expert witness who is negligent in respect of their work can be sued. Until the decision, the rule was that experts were immune from being sued for negligence in relation to evidence given...
Debtor Patrick Brophy must pay his credit card bill, following the failure of his bid to overturn a High Court decision dismissing his appeal against a 2009 judgment in the Willesden County Court. Mr Brophy took his case to the Court of Appeal , alleging...
The banks have recently lost a High Court challenge to new rules issued by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) regarding the approach to compensating those who have been mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). PPI was commonly sold alongside...
In a landmark decision ( Jones v Kaney ), the Supreme Court has overturned the long-established principle that an expert witness is immune from being sued over evidence given in court, except in respect of defamation suits. The decision was reached in...
Many websites only allow full access to features if ‘cookies’ are enabled on your web browser. A cookie is a small text file placed on your computer which allows the site visited to identify you (strictly, the computer user) on future visits to...
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has warned debt management firms to stop using unsolicited and misleading cold-calling practices to generate client leads. As part of its crackdown on illegal cold-calling within the debt management industry, the OFT has...
The Government is planning to change the current ‘no win, no fee’ system, in which a lawyer taking a no win no fee case charges a success fee met, in effect by the losing party, to an American style system in which the damages are split between...
A recent case has confirmed the position that if a complainant accepts recompense ordered by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), further recompense will not be available by way of court proceedings. Although the FOS is free, the Ombudsman can only award...
A recent case illustrates that it is not necessarily possible to make a claim against a supplier of goods just because they failed to warn the purchaser about a potential issue. The case involved a manufacturer of fire extinguishers, from whom a...
The Court of Appeal recently ruled that a debtor should not be threatened with prison for contempt of court merely to speed up a debt collection process. The case concerned Emeka Okonkwo, a tenant of Broomleigh Housing Association in Croydon, Surrey....
A woman has failed in a £680,000 High Court bid for half the proceeds of the sale of a business she helped to run, following the breakdown of a partnership. The claimant valued the business at £1.36 million and claimed 50 per cent of that...
The Ministry of Justice is now consulting on plans to require all separating couples contemplating court proceedings to attend mediation assessments prior to the commencement of court action. At present only parties seeking legal aid are required to attend...
Having money in an account held in two or more names does not mean that the account is held jointly by all those named and that entitlement to the total balance automatically passes to the last survivor. A recent case dealt with a bank account that was held...
A recent case illustrates the wisdom, when purchasing a car, of always checking the background of the vehicle to identify the rightful owner and the terms under which it is owned. Dr Kulkarni purchased a Mercedes for £39,000. The...
A recent court ruling resulted in an employer having to contribute towards the hospice care received by a former employee who had contracted mesothelioma. The man had worked at the Deptford power station more than 50 years ago and the court heard that it...
When purchasing goods or services on the Internet, it is common for websites to include, normally at a stage before a contract is formed, a tick-box which must be completed to confirm that you have read and understood the necessary terms and conditions. ...
Next time you take a holiday in Europe, make sure you have appropriate health insurance. Many British holidaymakers think that the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) will cover them if they are taken ill and require immediate medical treatment in a...
The inclusion of the mortgage broker’s fee in the ‘total amount financed’ did not make a debt unenforceable, according to the Supreme Court. The Court was considering the case of a Mr and Mrs Walker , who took out a loan of £17,500...
A couple who were awarded £22,000 in damages after they cut short their £60,000 dream cruise, when it turned into a nightmare due to sickness and physical discomfort, have had their damages slashed by the Court of Appeal . The couple abandoned...
When a claim is brought for damages, the party that is claimed against can make an offer to the claimant under a procedure contained in Part 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules. ‘Part 36 offers’ are designed to make it more likely that a case will be...
An autistic boy was not deprived of his right to an education, under the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), despite being kept out of school for some 18 months, according to a recent decision by the Supreme Court . According to the Court, the right to...
A Barlcaycard customer recently failed in his bid to have his £13,000 credit card balance set aside on the grounds that Barclaycard could not produce the original document showing that he had agreed to their terms and conditions, following the credit...
The Court of Appeal has overturned the lower court's decision that Plymouth City Council was partly liable for injuries sustained by a man who fell five metres into a car park after darting through a gap in some bushes late at night. Jonathan Harvey was a...
Changes have recently been made to the regulations governing Lasting Powers of Attorney and Enduring Powers of Attorney . The amendments require that the original Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) must be produced, if available, when an application is made...
The importance of making sure that anyone who does work for you has appropriate insurance has been highlighted by a recent case . It involved a man who was hired to do casual labour for a builder working on a house. The builder was uninsured. The man...
The hope that inequality of treatment on the part of insurers, based on the age of the insured, would be prohibited by the Equality Act 2010 , which brings together all the main legislation governing equality issues, was dashed when Parliament announced...
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) imposes a strict regulatory regime on persons operating in the financial services area by way of business and this includes the licensing of ‘deposit takers’. Recently, three men were charged with taking...
The comedian Jimmy Carr was recently successful in using a loophole in the law to avoid a fine for using a mobile phone whilst driving. The argument was based on the fact that he was using his mobile phone as a dictating machine, rather than as a...
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a man who knew that he and his daughter were about to become homeless, and who wrote to the council seeking its assistance in obtaining accommodation, had done enough to trigger the council’s obligation to provide...
Over 1,500 people who suffered chemical burns and allergic reactions after buying ‘toxic sofas’ are to share a compensation settlement worth £20 million, in what is thought to be the largest consumer class action in English legal history. ...
In a case now before the courts, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), which is currently responsible for regulating the financial services industry in the UK, claimed that three men had unlawfully taken deposits from acquaintances, with a view to making...
Following her conviction for fraud and money laundering, after faking her husband’s death in 2002, Anne Darwin has agreed to pay more than £591,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 . Mrs Darwin’s husband, John, was thought to have...
What You Need to Know The Charities Act 2006 was introduced to make life simpler for trustees, to provide more safeguards for them and to bring the definition of ‘charity’ up to date. The Act defines a charity as a ‘body or trust...
A new scheme for road traffic accident (RTA) claims, designed to speed up the process of settling claims, has come into effect. It covers low-value RTA claims (those between £1,000 and £10,000) and is a dramatic change to the legal...
Smokers may not realise that, in addition to the health risks associated with smoking, their habit could lead to them receiving a lower award for damages if they make a personal injury claim relating to diseases affecting the lungs (e.g. as a...
A case which was recently heard in the United States could have ramifications for manufacturers and suppliers of MP3 players and similar equipment. The case was brought against Apple, maker of the iPod, by users who had suffered deafness. The claimants...
Radical changes to the civil litigation system are imminent, following the publication of Lord Justice Jackson's final report outlining proposed changes to the current system, which is considered to impose excessive costs on losing parties. Among the...
When people are burdened with debt, they will sometimes resort to underhand tactics to relieve themselves of the consequences. One of the most common strategies is for the debtor to dispose of an asset, which would otherwise be used to pay his or her debts,...
It might reasonably be assumed that if you are a council tenant with neighbours who are likely to use violence against you and you inform your landlord of this fact, the council has some degree of responsibility for making sure you are protected. However,...
