Injuries Board
Contentious Business
Under the Regulations it is illegal for a solicitor to advertise “No win, no Fee”. Solicitors are not permitted to calculate their fees by reference to a percentage of the compensation recovered for the client. (Or as the Regulations put it, “In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement”.
The Medical Expert
The issue in a medical negligence action is whether the defendant deviated from approved or appropriate practice. It is an error, usually, to think that the plaintiff will succeed if he/she proves that there would have been no injury had the defendant followed a different course of action. (The exceptional case where it would not be an error would be one where the court was persuaded that the conventional practice carried such obvious defects that it was indefensible and where the court effectively condemns the defendant and the practice.)
Back Injury
Accidents from errors in manual handling are the commonest source of injury in Irish workplaces.
A Money Furnace
The government seems to have a furnace somewhere to dispose of old banknotes, such is their fondness, to the point of habit, for burning public funds.
A Dead Letter?
A failure to write the letter within the time may lead to the victim failing to recover legal costs against the wrongdoer, depending on what the judge in the case thinks.
Vagrants and Citizens
There are many important issues which are never discussed on doorsteps with political candidates at election time, but ought to be.
Come into my parlour…
The law on occupiers’ liability applies when the injury is caused by a defect or some condition of the premises. If the injury occurs without involving the premises, occupiers’ liability does not arise.
Shake, Rattle & Roll
Vibration would not be readily seen, by workers, as a danger to health in the workplace. It is, and the injury can be serious.
Chemical Hazards at Work
A toxic chemical is a poison. The poison may enter the body through the skin and not simply by the obvious routes of ingestion or breathing. Effects may not be immediate; a chemical may have a chronic effect, rather than an immediate acute effect.
The Outcome
Medical negligence litigation is unlike litigation generally. The cases throw up arguments about causation the like of which do not appear elsewhere.