header-logo header-logo

The credulity of experts

25 October 2024 / Dr Chris Pamplin
Issue: 8091 / Categories: Features , Profession , Expert Witness , Personal injury , Damages
printer mail-detail
194044
Dr Chris Pamplin looks at a shocking case in which experts failed to spot the claimant’s exaggerations
  • Experts should not assume the people with whom they interact are fundamentally honest.
  • Covers Williams-Henry v Associated British Ports Holdings Limited.
  • Warns experts not to lose sight of causation and to say which complaints are caused by the tort, which are not, and which they can’t establish either way.

Most experts might assume that when taking instructions, the people with whom they interact are fundamentally honest. As was demonstrated in the recent case of Williams-Henry v Associated British Ports Holdings Limited [2024] EWHC 806 (KB), [2024] All ER (D) 44 (Apr), there are dangers for experts who make this assumption.

The claimant had suffered a traumatic brain injury when she fell from Aberavon Pier. The pier was found to have been insufficiently guarded by railings. The defendant admitted liability. However, while settling the level of damages, the court found the claimant had greatly inflated the value of her claim.

Under

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
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
back-to-top-scroll