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Your privacy rights will die with you, but that does not mean that just anyone will be permitted access to your medical records after you are gone. The extent to which such records should remain under wraps post mortem was analysed in a High Court test case...
One of the most distressing aspects of road traffic accidents involving young people is that they can shatter their hopes for the future. In a case on point, a crash victim received eight-figure compensation for injuries which wrecked her prospects of...
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has taken steps to support hand sanitiser manufacturers as UK production increases to tackle the coronavirus. Spurred by unprecedented demand for biocidal hand sanitiser products during the coronavirus outbreak, the HSE...
Where blame, if any, attaches for the breakdown of a marriage is generally irrelevant when it comes to dividing assets following divorce. However, as a cruelly deceitful husband discovered to his cost, bad behaviour can have consequences in that it is hardly...
Prior to any form of medical procedure, patients have an absolute right to be told of the risks involved so that they can make their own fully informed choices. The High Court made that point in guaranteeing substantial compensation to a four-year-old boy...
Those who allow themselves to be driven in unlawfully taken vehicles put their lives in jeopardy and are unlikely to be covered by insurance in the event of a crash. A guideline High Court case on point concerned a young car owner who faced a familiar...
Many insurance policies state that amounts payable in the event of loss or damage to property will be calculated on a reinstatement basis – but what exactly does that mean? The Court of Appeal considered that fundamental issue in the context of a...
Lordships of the manor, whilst sounding grand, are often viewed as arcane titles with little real significance in terms of property rights. However, that is not always so and, in one High Court case, a lordship which was bought for just £100 almost...
A woman whose hopes of bearing children were stymied by the failure of medical staff to detect early signs of cervical cancer has won the right to substantial damages – including the reasonable cost of funding commercial surrogacy arrangements in...
The consequences of discrimination in the workplace can be truly devastating and compensation awards to victims can be very substantial. In one case, a disabled bank worker who was stricken by a severe depressive disorder after suffering disability...
Few people nowadays care whether a child is born within wedlock, but the law is in some respects behind the times. In a ground-breaking ruling, however, the High Court has opened the way for illegitimate members of an extended family to receive shares of a...
The full rigour of formalities that must be gone through in order to solemnise a marriage have been upheld in a landmark case. The Court of Appeal found that a ceremony performed in a restaurant which was not registered as an authorised wedding venue was a...
If you are on the receiving end of a legal claim, sitting on your hands is simply not an option and you should seek advice straight away. In a case on point, a property company which signally failed to engage in court proceedings was hit with a very...
Parents can take comfort from the fact that, if they die as a result of someone else's negligence, the law will ensure that their loved ones are compensated. In one case, the disabled daughter of a woman who lost her life when a taxi in which she was...
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are always on the lookout for unexplained cash earnings which have not been declared for tax. However, in one case, a former professional gambler was relieved of a six-figure Income Tax bill after convincing the First-tier...
Are adjacent commercial properties in common occupation, but divided by a service area, to be treated as one unit or two for business rates purposes? The Upper Tribunal (UT) has tackled that thorny issue in a case that clarified the law and will have...
To achieve just compensation, medical accident victims must prove not only that negligence occurred but also that their injuries were caused by it. In one case, expert legal representation overcame both of those hurdles to secure six-figure damages for a man...
Disputes with neighbours have a way of getting horribly out of hand, but legal advice taken at an early stage can help to draw the venom and save incalculable heartache and money in the long run. A case on point concerned flat dwellers who for years engaged...
Children cannot be wrapped in cotton wool and ordinary play inevitably involves an element of danger – but specialist lawyers are thankfully there to help if the worst happens. In one case, a girl who was blinded in one eye when she fell on her face...
Anyone who induces an employee to breach his or her contract is guilty of a civil wrong and can expect financial consequences – but what amounts to a state of mind sufficient to make a person liable for such a wrong? The Court of Appeal tackled that...
Employers usually bear indirect legal responsibility for misdeeds committed by their staff in the course of their jobs – but what if they are unpaid volunteers? The High Court tackled that issue in awarding substantial damages to a man whose childhood...
Those who engage in speculative litigation on the basis of weak evidence can expect to be hit hard in the pocket. In a case on point, a couple who sued a friendly architect after she provided them with free assistance in re-landscaping their garden found...
Road accident victims who are injured by uninsured drivers need not worry that their right to compensation will be compromised. In one case, a seven-figure settlement was negotiated on behalf of a pedestrian who almost died when he was struck down by a...
Works of artistic craftsmanship are, if original, entitled to copyright protection – but what exactly does the phrase mean? In a ruling that clarified the law , the High Court found that a clothing fabric featuring a woven 'wave' design fitted the...
Directors who are complicit in dishonest tax evasion cannot use the corporate veil to escape the consequences of their wrongdoing. The point was powerfully made by a case in which the boss of an engineering company was ruled personally liable to pay a...
