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Personal Injury Update

11 October 2007
Issue: 7292 / Categories: Features , Personal injury
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CLAIM FOR DEPENDENCY >>
INTERPRETATION OF FAA 1976 >>
HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE >>

FATAL ACCIDENTS: SETTLEMENT PRIOR TO DEATH A BAR TO RECOVERY

In Thompson v Arnold [2007] EWHC 1875, [2007] All ER (D) 38 (Aug) Mr Justice Langstaff, sitting in the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court, re-emphasised an important potential pitfall for those advising claimants whose injuries are such that they might lead to death in the near future.
It has been well established, since the case of Read v The Great Eastern Railway Company (1868) LR 3 QB 555, that a dependant will be precluded from pursuing a claim for dependency under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 (FAA 1976) in circumstances where the deceased has settled his or her outstanding claim for damages against the defendant tortfeasor during his or her lifetime. This follows from the wording of the FAA 1976 which, by virtue of s 1(1), permits a dependant to maintain an action for damages under that act only if the deceased would (if death had not ensued) have been entitled to maintain

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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
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
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
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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