The Supreme Court widened water companies’ potential liability this year to include discharges without negligence or misconduct, which could drive claims, according to insurance law firm DAC Beachcroft’s 150-plus predictions, released last week. Awareness of the risks of silicosis is growing in the UK, although there is no sign as yet of the large-scale silicosis litigation seen in Australia and the US.
DAC Beachcroft also suggest the government’s house-building ambitions together with climate change ‘are likely to drive an increase in the number, type and scope of geotechnical claims’.
‘A good example is the increasing prevalence of sinkholes in the UK… The increased number of construction projects on land underlain by chalk on greenfield sites, together with more frequent heavy rain events are two key factors.’ The firm warns ‘the extreme heat/heavy rain weather-cycle also negatively impacts slope stability resulting in the unwanted movement or collapse of railway/road embankments and cuttings (as well as triggering natural landslides)’.
On post-PACCAR legislation to clarify the law on litigation funding, the firm expects solicitors have a ‘long wait’ ahead. The government is due to conclude its review of the litigation funding sector by the summer, which means uncertainty is set to continue for at least another year.
Anti-greenwashing rules introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority could fuel shareholder litigation. Other predictions include potential oil spills and environmental catastrophes caused by the ‘dark fleet’ transporting oil and gas counter to sanctions against Russia.
Increased attention will be paid to neurodiversity in recruitment and career progression, the firm predicts. There could be a rise in ‘just transition’ claims aiming to protect local communities and environments from the adverse effects of the transition to renewable energy, for example, pollution caused by mining.
Public authorities should be prepared for the Hillsborough Law, which will introduce a legal duty of candour, as the government has pledged to introduce legislation before April. Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland KC, a consultant at DAC Beachcroft, said the proposed duty ‘could potentially have a dramatic effect on the risk profile of public bodies’.
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