Christopher Russell unravels recent cases involving limitation and loss of chance
The dog days of August and September are often relatively fallow times for the evolution and development of personal injury law. However, a survey of judgments delivered, both in the Court of Appeal and the High Court, since the last of these updates reveals a clutch of cases addressing, among other things, limitation and loss of a chance.
Limitation
In Field v British Coal Corporation [2008] EWCA Civ 912, the court dealt with a claim for noise induced deafness. Field worked in Harworth Colliery for 21 years from 1982 when he was aged 16. He did a variety of jobs both above and below ground. Until 1995 his employer was British Coal. From an early age, and from at least 1985 when he was 19, Field had discomfort and temporary minor hearing loss which he attributed to wax and ear infections. In 2003 Field noted ringing in his ears and his wife complained that the TV was always too loud. Tests carried out by an ENT surgeon in November 2003 led to a diagnosis of
