header-logo header-logo

28 February 2025
Issue: 8106 / Categories: Legal News , Personal injury , Damages , Health , Compensation
printer mail-detail

NLJ this week: Vicarious liability, refusal of tests & dog bites during a police chase

209436
Recent caselaw on vicarious liability, quantum and the process of seeking permission for a civil claim for injuries occurring while committing an imprisonable offence for which the potential claimant was later convicted, are all discussed in NLJ’s personal injury update column this week. Vijay Ganapathy, partner at Leigh Day specialising in industrial disease and complex injury cases, explores the issues in each case.

Can a claimant seek damages from the police for injuries sustained at the jaws of a police dog when he was apprehended? Should a claim be stayed unless the claimant undergoes medical testing? Was a local authority vicariously liable for abuse perpetrated by a foster carer related to the victim?

Ganapathy looks at the range of legal areas involved—the two-stage test, determining quantum and s 329, Criminal Justice Act 2003. 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
back-to-top-scroll