Legal News Articles
New government plans expected to reduce stillbirths and neonatal serious injury by half (30 November 2017)
Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, will introduce plans to improve care in maternity wards as part of NHS improvements. It is hoped that the changes made will reduce the number of births resulting in stillbirth and brain injury by 50% by 2025. Read more...
Legal battle success sees non-spouse receive bereavement damages (30 November 2017)
It has been a long-standing issue that those who lose their spouse through clinical negligence receive a lump sum of £12,980 in bereavement damages, but those who are unmarried that lose their partner are not afforded the same legal rights. Read more...
Drink Driving Campaigns Set to Launch (30 November 2017)
‘Deciding to drink and drive could cost you dearly this Christmas' - that's the message from some constabularies in the UK as forces begin to launch their Christmas drink driving campaigns. Read more...
To all residential landlords: changes in law on retaliatory evictions (27 November 2017)
The Deregulation Act (2015) has so far seen shorthold tenancy agreement (ASTs) affected by the change in law, which protects tenants against retaliatory evictions brought about by a complaint about the condition of the property. As on 1st October 2018, all AST properties will come under The Deregulation Act. Read more...
Local authorities have been told to have local plans for social housing by 31st January 2018 (27 November 2017)
Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has spoken out to warn local authorities that the government will be taking a strict approach to ensuring local plans are readily available by the end of January 2018. Read more...
Potentially “manipulated” test results sees 50 drug driving cases dropped (21 November 2017)
The National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) have revealed that up to 10,000 cases have been affected by questionable results pertaining to drug testing linked to road traffic offenses, assault and other violent offences including sexual offences and unexplained deaths. Of these cases, three quarters concern road traffic offences, with fifty cases already dropped as a result. Read more...
London family face eviction after neighbours complain about ‘noisy children’ (17 November 2017)
A family renting in London have been threatened with eviction after their neighbours complained about their 15 month old baby was crying. They were warned by the management firm that if the noise continued they would be given two weeks’ notice to leave the property. Read more...
Compensation awarded to family of boy whose birth was delayed causing brain damage (16 November 2017)
The family of a boy, aged 12, have been awarded compensation for a negligent delay in his birth which ultimately caused brain damage at Boston Pilgrim Hospital in Lincolnshire, by High Court judge Mr Justice Warby. Read more...
Policeman alongside wife who sold private information for profit may have to pay it all back (15 November 2017)
A policeman, Nigel Muglur, was imprisoned for conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office, misconduct in a public office, money laundering and unauthorised access to a computer. Now, the Crown Prosecution Service are instigating Confiscation Proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002) in an attempt to recover the benefit obtained from his criminal conduct. Read more...
Contaminated Blood Scandal will receive a full statutory inquiry (15 November 2017)
The government has announced that a ‘full statutory inquiry’ will be launched into the contaminated blood scandal in which approximately 7500 people were given blood products that were infected with Hepatitis C and HIV during the 1970s and 1980s, leaving 2400 dead. Read more...
Court of Protection judge rules in favour of ending life-sustaining treatment (15 November 2017)
An elderly woman, ‘P’, will have her life-sustaining treatment stopped after a judgment made by Mr Justice Hayden deemed that P would have felt the “minimally conscious” condition she has been in following a fall in 2016, to be a “travesty of life.” P is currently in the care of Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, who asked for the hearing to take place in order to decide whether they should continue feeding P through a tube. Read more...
The Ministry of Justice retracts appeal against legal aid for prisoners (14 November 2017)
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (Laspo) Act 2012 cut legal aid for prisoners in five legal matters, three of which are anticipated to have legal aid restored following a Judicial Review against the cuts. The Ministry of Justice began an application to appeal the judgment made following the Judicial Review, however, they have recently pulled out of the proceedings. Read more...
Outside the Rules: How Immigration Detainees in Prison Are Let Down (14 November 2017)
Unlike those held in Immigration Removal Centres (IRC’s), immigration detainees in prison are not permitted a mobile phone or internet access and face significant obstacles accessing lawyers, charities, and Home Office caseworkers. Read more...
Former Headteacher issued lifetime ban following serious negligence (14 November 2017)
A former headteacher has been banned from teaching for life after she failed to meet health and safety standards resulting in pupils and staff being put at serious risk. Read more...
Police officer’s compensation for discrimination at work claim set at half a million (10 November 2017)
Former Cleveland police officer, Mark Dias, experienced discrimination and bullying whilst working at Cleveland Police force. His claim for damages relating to discrimination, victimisation and whistleblowing has been settled for £500,000 four years after he left the firm in 2013. Read more...
CICA apologises for sexual abuse compensation refusal (9 November 2017)
A man known as HND, now 20, experienced grooming from the age of 13 which resulted in sexual abuse. Following prosecution against the men who were charged with abusing him, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) refused his claim for compensation on the grounds that he consented. They have since apologised following a review into the policy. Read more...
Rape allegations were ‘ignored by Commons’ (8 November 2017)
A woman who reported a rape case to the Commons has accused Andrea Leadsom of ignoring her allegations and not taking concerns over the ‘toxic’ culture of Westminster seriously. Read more...
Dangerous Drivers Continue to Disregard Law and Increased Penalties (8 November 2017)
It was reported recently that a HGV driver was caught on camera in Yorkshire with his foot on the dashboard as he used his mobile telephone whilst driving despite recent changes upping some driving offence penalties to life imprisonment. Read more...
Blindness drug Pharmaceutical companies threaten legal rebuke over NHS plans to use cheaper drug (2 November 2017)
The drug, Lucentis, is licensed to be used for macular degeneration, treating blindness brought on by aging. Over 10 years ago an anti-cancer drug, Avastin, was discovered to have the same effect as Lucentis for treating the condition, with a significantly reduced cost per dosage. The difference is, the manufacturer of Avastin has refused to license the drug to treat macular degeneration. Read more...
Driver hits dog walker before taking a train to London to catch a flight (2 November 2017)
A driver, Jonathan Kane, on trial at Truro Crown Court has admitted charges of causing death by careless driving, dangerous driving and driving without insurance, but denies causing death by dangerous driving. The victim has been named ‘Kate’ Bailey who had been walking her collies on 18th July at the time of the incident. Read more...
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace – Has recent publicity raised concerns in this area? (2 November 2017)
The court of public opinion is now in session. The law differentiates between harassment at work and harassment in public. At work, harassment is conduct – including that of a sexual nature – from another that makes you feel your dignity has been violated or intimidated, or creates a hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. Read more...