Litigation Personal Injury 25/06/96

Walker v Ministry of Defence - QBD 10 June 1996

Claimant: Kirsty Walker, Incident: Medical negligence

Injuries: Oxygen starvation at birth at military hospital; quadriplegic, effectively blind, severely mentally handicapped, little speech, able to do nothing for herself

Award: £1.05 million (agreed damages)

Judge: Judge Hordern QC (sitting as judge of the High Court)

Plaintiff's solicitors: Field Fisher Waterhouse



Farrant v Thanet District Council - QBD 11 June 1996

Claimant: Ian Christopher Farrant, 1Incident: Swimming pool accident

Injuries: Claimant dived into shallow pool on Margate sea-front and broke neck; now confined to wheelchair

Liability: Local authority held 80 per cent to blame, claimant 20 per cent; interim payment of £250,000 pending decision on quantum; in deciding liability judge said he considered claimant would not have dived had warning notices been in place; judge said there had been four drownings in the pool, including one last year; he held council knew or should have known that diving took place at the pool and there was clearly a foreseeable risk; he accepted council budget restraints but said if it did not demolish the pool it was under a duty to ban diving completely and enforce the ban

Judge: Mr Justice Nelson

Plaintiff's solicitors: Cunningham John (Thetford)

Plaintiff's counsel: Michael Spencer QC and Hywell Jenkins



Green v Bennett - QBD 5 June 1996

Claimant: Mavis Green, 71

Incident: Road traffic accident

Injuries: Claimant, 67 at time of accident, suffered multiple fractures of right arm, leg and pelvis, after being knocked down as she crossed road

Award: £55,000 (agreed damages)

Judge: Judge Christopher Hordern QC (sitting as additional judge of High Court)

Plaintiff's solicitors: Liddell Zurbrugg (London)

Plaintiff's counsel: Guy Anthony