A horse rider has secured compensation for the injuries she suffered when she fell from her horse after the animal was frightened by the sound of two motorbikes revving their engines. The woman was on her way back to the yard with her stepson when a...
Latest News
For a Will to be valid, the testator (the one making the Will) must be ‘of sound mind’ at the time of making and signing the Will. This means that they must be capable of understanding and approving of the contents and effects of the Will. With...
Defects in workplace equipment can cause devastating injuries and employers should take careful note of a High Court case in which a nurse secured six-figure compensation after an office chair collapsed underneath him. The nurse, who worked in a...
Landowners who neglect or fail to make use of their properties put themselves at risk of losing them to squatters. In a recent case on this subject, a woman faced a neighbour's claim that he was entitled to her field, having cut the grass for years. The...
Personal injury lawyers confront tragedy on a daily basis but are often left in awe of the courage displayed by severely injured accident victims. That was certainly so in one case concerning a young man who fought his way back to independence after...
Establishing a company to act as an intermediary between yourself and the clients to whom you provide your services can have substantial tax advantages. As a case involving a broadcast journalist showed, however, such arrangements are pointless if the...
Amidst the emotional and financial destruction that can arise from divorce, keeping a sense of proportion is crucial. The Court of Appeal made that point in lamenting a former couple's expenditure of more than £500,000 in legal costs fighting over an...
Allowing your will to become out of date stores up trouble for your loved ones. That was strikingly so in one case in which a successful businessman suffered a stroke before he could make a new will taking account of his changed financial and personal...
Restaurants that fail to meet food hygiene standards not only put their reputations in jeopardy but also expose themselves to compensation claims by their clients. In one case, a woman who suffered severe food poisoning after eating out at an Indian...
It is well established that employers can be held legally responsible for the misdeeds of their employees, but what about the misdeeds of self-employed subcontractors? The High Court addressed that tricky issue in a guideline case concerning a bricklayer who...
Millions of people who invest their pension pots in annuities can ultimately rely on the law to guarantee their financial security. In a case on point, the High Court overruled financial regulators and refused to sanction the transfer of about 370,000...
A recent case involving a catastrophically injured cyclist whose legal team overcame numerous hurdles to secure him a just settlement illustrates the importance of having specialist support during such proceedings. The man was in his 20s when a car knocked...
In a case illustrating the importance of candour regarding financial circumstances in divorce proceedings, a husband who failed to disclose the true extent of his wealth to family judges was subsequently ordered to pay his ex-wife a seven-figure lump sum,...
Investors using the popular online financial investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) may not have heard that the 'loyalty bonuses' they receive from HL have been deemed by the Upper Tribunal (UT) to be taxable income in the hands of the recipients and...
New homes built in the grounds of existing residences make a valuable contribution to meeting burgeoning housing demand. However, as a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) showed , restrictions lurking in antique title deeds can stand in the way of...
If you have suffered an accident at work and you believe that your employer was to blame, you should seek legal advice right away. A florist's assistant who did just that after he fell while carrying a heavy glass vase has secured the right to substantial...
The idea that you cannot achieve compensation for road accident injuries if you were in any way to blame for what happened is simply wrong. This point was made by the case of a vulnerable pedestrian who was hit by a car as he crossed the road when the...
If a loved one upon whom you depend financially fails to make reasonable provision for you in his or her will, judges have the power to put that right. However, there are time limits that apply to such proceedings and that is why it is vital to consult a...
If injuries result from a public authority's failure to match up to its legal duties, it is only right that compensation is paid. The High Court made that point in ruling that a failure to properly maintain a street lamp was, in part, the cause of an...
Family judges are always absolutely focused on the welfare of children and will not shrink from grasping nettles to give them the best chance of leading fulfilled and happy lives. That was certainly so in one case in which a judge ordered that a baby boy be...
Trust deeds can be an effective means of managing family wealth and minimising tax liabilities but, as a High Court decision strikingly showed , any mistakes in their drafting can have serious repercussions for generations to come. The case concerned a...
No amount of money can ever fully compensate those whose lives are wrecked by road accidents – but an award in damages can at least ensure that victims are cared for as well as they possibly can be. In a good example of that happening, a little boy who...
If you are facing an investigation by the tax authorities, your very first step should be to seek professional advice. One taxpayer who sadly chose not to take that course, instead burying his head in the sand, narrowly escaped a six-figure back-tax bill. ...
Building sites can be dangerous places and it is obviously right that those who suffer injury due to their employers' failure to take appropriate precautions should be fully compensated. In one recent case, a worker who sustained grave head injuries when he...
Public confidence in the civil justice system would collapse if court orders were not rigorously enforced – however agonising complying with them may be. The point was made by a case in which a divorcee who refused to move out of her home of 25 years...
Many road accident victims happily make a good recovery, but specialist lawyers should always be the first port of call for those who do not. A catastrophically injured young man's family took that sensible course and secured him £2.75 million in...
When a property development involving a building that is listed or in a conservation area is undertaken, it is reasonable for the contractor employed to do the work to assume that the employer has used due diligence to obtain the necessary planning consents....
The whole purpose of the civil justice system is to achieve just and final resolution of frequently intractable disputes – and, as a guideline Court of Appeal decision in an inheritance case made plain, that includes saving litigants from themselves...
Responses to a report from the Civil Justice Council (CJC) setting out proposed measures to better support and protect vulnerable witnesses and parties in civil proceedings, including personal injury cases, are due to be considered following public...
When HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) find out that tax has been under-declared, the response is normally to raise a 'discovery assessment' to collect the tax due. This is usually the result of a period of investigation, and penalties and interest are also...
Surprisingly, nearly 250,000 people go missing in the UK every year. Leaving aside the heartache and worry this causes, until recent changes in the law it also created an appalling position for family members trying to deal with the affairs of the person who...
Cohabiting couples are the fastest-growing family type in the UK, according to newly released figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The ONS reports that the number of cohabiting couple families continues to grow faster than the number of...
Road accidents can have grave consequences that last a lifetime, and it is only right that, where they are caused by negligence, full compensation is paid. In one case, a man who suffered a dramatic change in his personality after he was knocked down on a...
It is in the nature of litigation that the losing party frequently feels that the judge was wrong and the outcome unjust. However, a case in which a householder repeatedly lost his liberty , and ultimately his home, due to his defiance of court orders shows...
A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a document that may be used so that the finances or other issues of a person who cannot deal with them themselves may be attended to by a trusted third party – normally a solicitor or a family member. When an LPA...
Holiday experiences can change from good to bad in an instant, but where injuries are sustained the impact can be felt for years to come. Such was the case with a 61-year-old woman who was dragged along a Fuerteventura beach for several metres after being...
Many vulnerable people who fall into debt are tempted to raise cash on the security of their homes. However, a case in which an elderly couple came within an ace of losing the roof over their heads stands as a warning to all that such arrangements should...
Some accident victims are so badly injured that they can do nothing for themselves and are certainly incapable of seeking legal advice. However, as a High Court case showed, that does not stand in the way of them securing the compensation needed to pay for...
Very rich people often live jet set lifestyles of ceaseless travel, so pinning down the country in which they are domiciled can be a serious challenge. The High Court faced exactly that difficulty in a case concerning the acrimonious breakdown of a...
Advertisements that perpetuate gender stereotyping have recently been in the spotlight after the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) banned adverts for Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Volkswagen's eGolf following complaints from the public that they featured...
A recent case decided by the Scottish Courts shows the wisdom of not making irrevocable decisions that you may later come to regret. It involved a woman who gifted her house to her daughter and son-in-law, retaining a tenancy for life over the property....
Where people lack the mental capacity to make important decisions for themselves, judges will step in to ensure that their best interests are served, as was demonstrated by an unusual case in which the Court of Protection (CoP) authorised the planned...
When a couple wished to avoid paying Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on the purchase of a property, they hit on what looked to them like a great idea. Instead of buying the property outright, they paid for it in two stages…a deposit, plus the purchase of...
Companies are notoriously difficult to value, and particular problems can arise when they form the principal assets to be divided in divorce proceedings. In a big money case on point, the High Court bridged a huge gulf between the value placed by a wife...
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published provisional statistics for fatal workplace injuries in Britain for the year 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019. A total of 147 workers were killed at work in Great Britain (GB) in 2018/2019. Although this...
If you feel that you have suffered a wrong of any kind, a delay in taking legal action can put paid to your chances of obtaining justice. A widow who was left nothing in her deceased husband's will found that out to her cost when her hopes of obtaining...
Those injured in road accidents often assume they are disqualified from seeking compensation if they were partly to blame for their own misfortune. However, a case in which a speeding motorcyclist won the right to substantial damages shows that this...
Property purchases are, for the majority of people, the highest-value deals they ever enter into and that is why they should never be undertaken in haste or without expert legal advice. A case in which an amateurish, home-made agreement led to years of...
Victims of violent crimes or serious accidents often receive very large sums in compensation and that creates obvious risks of mismanagement or exploitation. A recent High Court case showed why it is always best to engage an independent professional to...
It is usual for occupational pension schemes to allow the spouse or partner of a scheme member to receive a reduced pension in the event that the member predeceases them. Normally, the appropriate beneficiary is set out in the scheme rules. With defined...
- Page 16 of 20