header-logo header-logo

17 June 2010 / Brent Mcdonald
Issue: 7422 / Categories: Features , Personal injury
printer mail-detail

Left to sink or swim on the piste

pi_5

Brent McDonald provides some clarity to the correct approach in cases involving trips abroad

This month many personal injury practitioners will be nervously waiting for the Court of Appeal’s decision in Dixie v British Polythene Ltd. In Dixie it will be remembered that the Court of Appeal is being asked to determine whether the judge was right to hold that a strike out for a failure to serve proceedings in time precludes a second action started outside the primary limitation period being saved by a s 33 application. This practitioner knows of a number of cases that depend on the outcome.

In the meantime, two recent cases are worthy of mention. In the first, the Court of Appeal clarified to test to be applied in claims relating to accidents suffered during holidays abroad; and the second provides the latest guidance as to the preferred way to assess claims for future loss of earnings by disabled claimants.

In Gouldbourn v Balkan Holidays Ltd and Anr [2010] EWCA Civ 372,

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

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
back-to-top-scroll