The plaintiff suffered injury walking a gangway onto a moored ship. Her solicitors failed to identify the owner of the ship, misspelling the name and failing to search in the General Register of Shipping and Seamen. The eventual claim was made outside the basic limitation period. Was the plaintiff fixed with knowledge under section 14(3)(b)?
Held: A plaintiff consulting solicitors on a personal injury claim was fixed with the knowledge which they in turn could have acquired as experts, and accordingly the limitation period had begun and later expired. The concept of who was an expert is not limited to expert witnesses. The solicitors were the people she turned to as ‘much more seasoned warriors’ for this kind of matter.
Judges:
Lord Justice Beldam, Mrs Justice Bracewell
Citations:
Gazette 20-May-1998, Times 02-May-1998, [1998] EWCA Civ 690, [1998] 3 All ER 324, [1998] 1 WLR 1540
Links:
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Powell v National Coal Board CA 28-May-1986
Limitation operates as a defence, and therefore it is for he who sets it up to establish it, and prove that the claim was time barred. Once the initial limitation period had elapsed, it was for the plaintiff to assert that the date of knowledge . .
Cited – Nash v Eli Lilly and Co QBD 1991
The court discussed the relevance of knowledge obtainable by the plaintiff’s solicitor for limitation purposes.
Held: Hidden J said ‘My conclusion is therefore that there is no binding authority on whether facts ascertainable by a plaintiff . .
Cited – Nash v Eli Lilly and Co CA 1993
The court considered whether a solicitor acting for a potential plaintiff was considered to be an expert for the purposes of the section.
Held: Purchas LJ said: ‘Of course as advice from a solicitor as to the legal consequences of the act or . .
Cited – Semtex Ltd v Gladstone 1954
The court considered the liability of the master in a case of master and servant, a case of pure vicarious liability and a case in which the sole cause of the injuries was the negligence of the servant. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Limitation, Personal Injury
Updated: 18 November 2022; Ref: scu.144168
