United Kingdom: Professional Negligence

A Technology and Construction Court case examines whether a haulage company can be held vicariously liable for a driver's negligence when delivering chemicals to a water treatment plant, despite the driver being seconded to and embedded within the client's organization for five years. The judgment explores the boundaries of dual vicarious liability and the enforceability of standard road haulage contract terms.

The General Court of the European Union upheld Decathlon's registered EU design for its EASYBREATH full-face snorkelling mask against a technical function challenge, while the UK High Court found Chiaro's Elvie breast pump design had narrow infringement scope after excluding technical features. These contrasting outcomes reveal how the exclusion for designs dictated solely by technical function can dramatically affect protection scope, even for products designed to fit the human body.

Baroness Amos' final report reveals the persistent failures in maternity and neonatal care, where families' concerns are routinely dismissed and accountability is denied. The report proposes system-wide reforms including a statutory National Maternity and Neonatal Commissioner to oversee implementation within 12 months. Will these recommendations finally deliver the meaningful change that families desperately need, or will this be another missed opportunity for lasting reform?

Mediation is now a routine component of the litigation game. In Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council the court changed the traditional litigation rules..

A recent High Court decision examines the liability of project monitoring surveyors in construction lending, establishing stricter standards for independence and conflicts of interest. The case explores how far a project monitor's duty extends when advising lenders on development viability, and what losses they can be held responsible for when projects fail.

Personal injury claims increasingly involve significant mental health consequences, from anxiety and PTSD to depression and emotional distress. Understanding the complex relationship between physical trauma and psychological harm is essential for victims seeking proper support and compensation, particularly when psychiatric injuries occur alongside or independently of physical injuries.

It feels a little late but as our first newsletter of the year we would like to wish you all a most excellent 2026. It has been a busy start for chambers and for our team...

The claim was brought by the wife and son of Mr Ajaz Ahmed, the Deceased, against Mr Ahmed's GP. Mr Ahmed sadly died of lung cancer on 23 February 2023 at the age of 49.

Twenty-two years after the House of Lords in Tomlinson v Congleton Borough Council [2003] UKHL 47 warned litigants that a duty to protect against obvious risks only exists in very limited...