header-logo header-logo

Civil Way: 17 January 2020

16 January 2020 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 7870 / Categories: Procedure & practice , Civil way
printer mail-detail

Pain & suffering from judicial college

It’s out. The 15th edition (orange covered) of the Judicial College Guidelines for the assessment of general damages in personal injury cases was published on 26 November 2019 by Oxford University Press. This should send you off to revise CPR Pt 36 offers and kick yourself (before the clients kick you) for the settlements you have advised on since last November. It’s a moot point as to the stage at which failure to heed the uplifted ranges of damages might be evidence of professional negligence. Of course, the guidelines do not settle the ranges but reflect the awards which have been made by the courts since the previous edition. This in itself is an almost impossible task given the introduction’s admission that there have been ‘remarkably few’ awards in the two years which have elapsed since the 14th edition. What is inescapable is that the RPI has seen a 7% increase over those two years and this has been factored into the guideline’s newest figures. In

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
back-to-top-scroll