Jill Paterson & Thomas Jervis consider the High Court’s latest limitation decision
- Unusual spinal injuries case in which the High Court granted permission for a product liability claim to continue following preliminary issue trial of limitation.
In Keith Malcolm Lewin v Glaxo Operations UK Limited [2016] EWHC 3331 (QB) the High Court has granted permission for a product liability claim to continue following a preliminary issue trial of limitation. In this unusual spinal injuries case, the court was asked to determine whether the claim was statute barred under the Limitation Act 1980.
Background
The claimant, a 59-year-old solicitor, is pursuing a product liability claim against an entity of the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline for alleged personal injuries and other consequential losses arising out of his exposure to Myodil, an oil based contrast medium, when he underwent a diagnostic myelogram procedure for back pain at Whiston Hospital in 1973. He was 15-years-old at that time. Mr Lewin is now severely disabled and requires the use of a large motorised wheelchair to mobilise after developing a serious spinal condition known as “adhesive arachnoiditis”. This condition is characterised
