Kuszek v Clarke – QBD 29 April 1997

Claimant: Ruth Kuszek, 45

Incident: Road traffic accident

Injuries: Claimant, a competitive horsewoman and livery stable owner, suffered disabling whiplash injuries in a road crash which caused her grave problems with running her livery stables. Her sporting activities were also interfered with

Award: £55,000 (agreed damages)

Judge: Judge Geddes

Plaintiff’s counsel: Geoffrey Brown

Plaintiff’s solicitor: Ian Glaister & Co

Hurley v MoD – QBD 1 May 1997

Claimant: Sandra Hurley, 4Incident: Medical negligence

Injuries: Mother’s claim after son, now six, was born with Down’s Syndrome. Claimant says she would have had pregnancy terminated had she realised the condition of her unborn baby. She claimed she was told when she asked to be screened to ascertain the state of the foetus that the chances of her having such a child were no greater than if she were 26. She said she was told there was a 1 per cent chance of the amniocentesis test causing the miscarriage of what could be a healthy foetus. Prior to settlement counsel told the court the information the claimant received was substandard because statistics show that a pregnant woman of 35 has up to a three-and-a-half times greater risk of giving birth to a Down’s Syndrome child than a woman of 26

Award: £300,000 (agreed damages)

Judge: Mr Justice Hooper

Plaintiff’s counsel: Richard Davies QC

Plaintiff’s solicitor: Evill & Coleman

Simpson v The Post Office – QBD 30 April 1997

Claimant: Dorothy Simpson, 60

Incident: Fall at work

Injuries: Cleaning lady slipped in icy conditions and injured her back. She had sought £40,000 damages, claiming for injuries resulting from the fall accelerated the onset of osteoarthritis by three years. But judge accepted Post Office’s case, which argued that the fall had led to a mere six-to-eight-week exacerbation of her already chronic back problems. Post Office, which admitted liability, had offered £3,500 to settle the case prior to hearing

Award: £77Judge: Mr Justice Poole

Plaintiff’s counsel: David Mayall

Plaintiff’s solicitor: Simpson Millar, London