
The ever-evolving area of vicarious liability is tackled in this week’s NLJ personal injury update. Vijay Ganapathy, partner, and Catriona Ratcliffe, associate solicitor, at Leigh Day, look at the legal developments and implications of three recent cases
The cases concern a local authority found not vicariously liable for sexual abuse reported by a child in care, a historic asbestos case where exposure took place in the 1960s, and a judgment giving guidance on limitation in a tragic case where a client was left ‘high and dry’ by her solicitors.
Ganapathy and Ratcliffe write: ‘The scope of vicarious liability has broadened as the courts have recognised the changing nature of employment and that numerous relationships can be ‘akin to employment’.’