Stewarts hosted a webinar exploring the impact of Covid-19 on litigation and expert and case manager assessments on 16 September 2020.
Recent Caselaw updates
Nichola Fosler, a partner in our personal injury department, gave the first talk. Nichola’s presentation provided an overview of important legal updates in personal injury over the last 12 months.
Nichola spoke about the issues that arose relating to disclosure of case management records in the case of Ali-Akbar Palizban v Protech (UK) Ltd.
She also discussed the case of DXW V PXL relating to anonymity orders in claims involving protected parties.
The following recent Court of Protection decisions on mental capacity were also highlighted:
- Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust v AB
- A NHS Foundation Trust v MC
- University Hospital and Warwickshire NHS Trust v K and another
Finally, Nichola spoke about the eagerly-awaited Supreme Court decision in the case of Shannon v Rampersand and Anor (T/A Clifton House Residential Home) relating to carers earnings and the awaited Court of Appeal decision in the case of Swift v Carpenter on accommodation claims.
Litigation in Lockdown – discussion of practice and procedural changes
Clare Salmon, a partner in our personal injury department, spoke about litigation in lockdown and led a discussion on the practical and procedural changes that have occurred during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Clare discussed the Coronavirus Act 2020 and virtual court hearings and trials. She highlighted the first commercial virtual trial, National Bank of Kazakhstan & others v The Bank of New York Mellon & Ors, in which Fiona Gillett, a partner in our commercial department, acted for the claimant. Please click here to read more about the case.
During the talk, Clare discussed the pros and cons of working remotely at all stages of the litigation process from case management input and expert assessments to taking witness statements, attending settlement meetings and court hearings.
Medico-legal and case manager assessments post Covid19
Warren Maxwell, a partner in our personal injury department, gave the final talk, which concentrated on a discussion of medico-legal and case manager assessments post Covid-19.
During his talk, Warren gave a summary of responses he had received from questions put to a number of litigation experts and case managers regarding their approach to assessments in the light of Covid-19.
The litigation experts had all returned to face-to-face appointments, strictly following Public Health England guidelines. While recognising the benefits of virtual assessments in reducing the time spent with claimants, the general view was that these could not fully replace in-person assessments, particularly for incomplete spinal cord injured claimants, complex orthopaedic cases and neuropsychological assessments.
The majority of the case manager respondents had returned to face-to-face appointments, some having continued to meet clients in person throughout the lockdown, where the client’s needs and strict risk assessments permitted. Some innovative approaches had been taken by case managers to maintain personal contact with clients and perform supervision of support workers. Virtual communication is seen as a positive way of maintaining contact and a helpful tool, but concerns of not obtaining the full picture meant that, as with experts, the view of the case managers was that it could not replace face-to-face contact.
See the recording below:
Please contact us if you would like us to cover any specific topics in future webinars.
Case managers’ newsletter
In July, we launched our new quarterly newsletter for case managers. We want to maintain contact and provide support during this difficult time, and this newsletter will provide guidance and legal updates relevant to case managers in an easy to digest format. In this first edition, we had contributions about making a Lasting Power of Attorney during lockdown and how to apply for Universal Credit after serious injury, and heard from psychologist Gaby Parker about delivering remote psychological assessments.
Covid-19 is impacting individuals and companies around the world in an unprecedented way. We have collected insights here to help you navigate the key legal issues you may be facing at this time.
You can find further information regarding our expertise, experience and team on our Personal Injury pages.
If you require assistance from our team, please contact us or alternatively request a call back from one of our lawyers by submitting this form.
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