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Civil way: 3 February 2023

03 February 2023 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 8011 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way , CPR
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Insurers lashed by whipping; special account up; mousing to midnight; equity demands detriment; truth in the CoP; posties deemed to work; words to take your heart away

MIXED INJURIES, MIXED JUDGMENTS

At last. The Court of Appeal has spoken—two tongues to one—on the construction of s 3 of the Civil Liability Act 2018 (CLA 2018) (see ‘Civil way’, 171 NLJ 7924, p15). The question raised by the leapfrogged appeals in Hassam and another v Rabot and another [2023] EWCA Civ 19 was how the court was to assess damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA) where the claimant suffers a whiplash caught by a tariff but also suffers additional injury which falls outside the scope of CLA 2018 and does not attract a tariff award.

The majority answer, adopting the claimants’ secondary case (with another win for Benjamin Williams KC) was that the court should assess the tariff award by reference to the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/642); assess the award for non-tariff injuries on common

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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
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