Justice & funding
Litigation, rehab funded through legal claims, and commissioning that pays for rehab.
Legal17 AprAvril Scally at Lavelle Partners discusses the vital difference a specialist can make
Justice & funding5 DecWhile the personal injury market may have incurred relatively nominal growth since 2020, it expanded by 1.8% last year to peak at £4 billion. Although some demean the personal injury market, it provides a unique and accessible services to individuals who suffer as a result of an accident, enabling them to make a viable compensation [...]
Legal8 OctThe thorny issue of bereavement damages in fatal accident cases has recently raised its head again on one of my cases, writes associate solicitor Lauren Haas. Since so few of the families I encounter are aware of bereavement damages it may be useful to summarise the current law in this area and set out what the potential issues are.
What are bereavement damages? Bereavement damages are a fixed sum of money which can be claimed on the unlawful death of a loved one. They are separate from any financial dependency claim, which can of course also be brought.
Case management10 SepThe Covid-19 epidemic has had a disproportionate impact on societies most vulnerable, due to social, financial and medical needs, write legal executive Jack Sales and clinical case manager Alexandra Hitchcock...
With many clients falling into this category case managers and solicitors have needed to continue to work in a collaborative and responsive fashion in order to best respond to the clients’ changing needs. This is compounded when the client is not the only person in the household and their care team’s needs also need to be considered. Elderly family members and those with other medical conditions along with roommates working from home, children requiring home schooling and regular paid carers needing to self-isolate have made supporting clients’ needs more challenging.
Legal24 AugLitigation, as with the world in general, has changed significantly in 2020. We could not have ever possibly foreseen how during this year we would all have to move rapidly to working remotely and digitally. It may well have accelerated changes in many firms towards digitalisation and a more agile way of working. It is likely that solicitors sitting behind desks each day in a crowded office might be a thing of the past.
How will this huge change which has been thrust upon us affect the way we run our cases? Inevitably, there will be changes which are obvious; for example there are very likely to be more remote court hearings.
Legal22 MayGuillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is often triggered by a viral or bacterial infection such as flu or food poisoning, it causes the nerves in the arms and legs to become inflamed and stop working, usually leading to temporary paralysis which may last from a few days to many months. An estimated 1,300 people (1 to 2 people per 100,000) are affected by GBS annually in the UK. About 80 per cent will make a good recovery, but between 5 and 10 per cent of people will not survive and 10 and 15 per cent may experience long term residual effects ranging from limited mobility or dexterity, to life-long dependency on a wheelchair. One such example is William Marsh, 57, from Glamorgan, Wales, who suffered from symptoms including stomach cramps and diarrhoea towards the end of a week-long all-inclusive holiday to the Dominican Republic in September 2018 which was booked to celebrate his 25th wedding anniversary.
Legal18 NovThe Court of Protection (CoP) makes decisions on financial and welfare matters for people lacking mental capacity. It was created under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and has a range of responsibilities, including deciding whether an individual has mental capacity, and appointing deputies to make decisions for people who lack it. Deputies may be a friend or relative of the individual, or a professional such as a solicitor or accountant appointed by the court. The CoP can significantly influence the work of professionals with clients with brain injuries and neurological conditions.
Legal5 NovIf an individual suffers an injury on the road through the negligence of a driver, they will recover compensation.
This is because of the provisions within Section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
Even if there was no insurance attaching to the vehicle, the Motor Insurers’ Bureau would satisfy any unsatisfied Judgment. But there are numerous cases in which insurers in road traffic accident cases have tried a variety of methods to avoid liability including seeking a statutory declaration, asserting that the insurance policy is only relevant if the policyholder was driving or in the vehicle, and stating that the use of the vehicle was different to that which was insured.
Opinion8 MayBy David Withers, partner in the serious injury team in Irwin Mitchell’s Sheffield Office.
Case management18 MarThe role of a case manager is to manage a “collaborative process of assessment, planning, facilitation, care co-ordination, evaluation and advocacy for options and services to meet an individual’s and family’s comprehensive health needs through communication and available resources to promote quality cost effective outcomes[1].” The role of a Claimant solicitor in the litigation process is to represent the needs of the injured person and to manage all phases of the litigation towards settlement or trial. It is a process of collating and presenting the evidence that is required to ensure that the award agreed between the parties or made by the Court is fair and correct.
