A few days could make all the difference for those involved in issuing civil claims in the courts of England and Wales. If you sue someone this week and claim £200,000, you will have to pay a court fee of £1,515. On Monday, that fee goes up to £10,000. So expect a busy Friday. We [...]
Andrew Ekelem sits in a wheelchair at the bottom of the fifth-floor stairwell at Olin Hall, laptop balanced on his thighs, quick keystrokes making tiny adjustments for the exoskeleton that promises to change his life. It’s carrying a test subject up 10 stairs before the safety of a landing, one painstaking move at a time, [...]
Kristy Preece had just cleared the Ferry Boat Pub in Runcorn in Cheshire. The shift on May 24th, 2010, had been difficult – mainly because of two abusive customers called Brian and Sandra. Ms Preece, a shift manager, had been threatened with a cane. Not unreasonably, she asked the elderlies to leave the pub. Under protest, they [...]
The Children's Minister has made it clear he will not be buckling to pressure to stop the introduction of plain packaging for cigarettes. James Reilly was responding to a letter from one of the country's largest tobacco firms JTI Ireland which warned they will take legal action if he does not halt the plans. The [...]
The payment of massive damages to the victims of medical negligence has become a familiar story from the Four Courts in recent years. Earlier this month, for example, a disabled boy who suffered brain damage at birth was awarded €13.5 million. What attracts less attention are the legal costs attached to such claims and the [...]
It was a case of with or without Bono last night, as U2 took to the stage for the World Aids Day (RED) Concert in New York's Times Square. The U2 frontman was unable to perform at the charity gig as he continues to recover after a cycling accident in November. But fans of the [...]
A teenager who lost an eye after being struck by a ball on a golf course has been awarded more than €240,000 after taking a High Court action. Dean Boyle, 22, from Moneymore, Drogheda, Co Louth was 15-years-old when he went with a teenage friend to play at Julianstown Golf Course in Co Meath on [...]
A Texas woman who pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and has lived the past 10 years believing she killed her fiancé in a car accident had her conviction set aside hours after General Motors Co. confirmed the vehicle she was driving was among those recalled for a faulty ignition switch. Judge Teresa Drum cleared [...]
Personal injury cases are prime targets for manipulation and conjecture. How do you show that someone who’s been in a car accident can’t do their job properly, and deserves thousands of euro in compensation? Till now lawyers have relied on doctors to observe someone for half an hour or so and give their, sometimes-biased opinion. Soon, they might also [...]
A number of car dealers have claimed they are being discriminated against in relation to the criteria for appointment as authorised repairer for Toyota vehicles, the High Court has heard. Fifteen outlets from around the country, including Cranley Cars, Linders, Murphy & Gunn, Fitzpatrick’s and Kearys, said that Toyota Ireland was acting in breach of [...]