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Causation & principle

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19 May 2011 / Helen Wolstenholme
Issue: 7466 / Categories: Features , Damages , Personal injury
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Helen Wolstenholme reports on the repercussions of accidents at work & in the swimming pool

Personal injury lawyers have kept the Court of Appeal busy recently. Of particular note was Dalling v RJ Heale & Co Ltd [2011] EWCA Civ 365, [2011] All ER (D) 54 (Apr), in which the court grappled with causation in a case where it was argued that the accident for which the defendant was responsible had caused the claimant to suffer a second accident and injury, but the defendant relied upon novus actus interveniens. Also notable was Woodland v Stopford & others [2011] EWCA Civ 266, [2011] All ER (D) 185 (Mar), where the court reviewed the principles to be applied when considering an application to withdraw a pre-action admission in a personal injury case.

Woodland

Ward LJ described Woodland as “a very sad case indeed”. The claimant, who was aged 10 at the date of the accident in July 2000, suffered a hypoxic brain injury when she lost control during a swimming lesson. The injuries sustained

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