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28 January 2022 / Vijay Ganapathy , Walker Syachalinga
Issue: 7964 / Categories: Features , Personal injury
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Personal injury in the spotlight

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Vijay Ganapathy & Walker Syachalinga examine some key issues raised in the latest rulings on personal injury
  • The Fatal Accidents Act 1976: calculating dependency claims.
  • Duty of care in competitive sports.
  • Application for interim payments in a case involving multiple defendants.

The last few months have seen the courts ruling on a variety of issues which will provide useful guidance for future cases.

Steve Hill Ltd v Witham (as widow and executrix of the estate of Neil Witham (deceased)) [2021] EWCA Civ 1312, [2021] All ER (D) 21 (Sep) is one of two significant recent Court of Appeal rulings (the other being Paramount Shopfitting Company Ltd v Rix (widow and executrix of the estate of Rix (deceased)) [2021] EWCA Civ 1172, [2021] All ER (D) 07 (Aug)) which have provided some much needed clarity for dependency claims.

Mrs Witham (‘W’) sued the defendant (‘S’) after her husband’s sad death following his diagnosis of mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure. W and her husband had looked after two foster

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NLJ this week: Old rules, fresh warnings in employment law
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
NLJ this week: The rise of the ‘ChatGPT client’ rattles the profession
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
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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’
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