Hibbert Pownall and Newton (A Firm) v Whitehead and Another: CA 4 Apr 2008

The defendant solicitors had been engaged to pursue a claim for damages for injury arising on the birth of the claimant. They had been instructed by the mother, but she then died, and the claim was compromised. The solicitors now appealed against a finding of negligence brought on behalf of the mother’s estate.
Held: The appeal succeeded. The claim if successful would create a windfall to the estate. The principle of restitutio in integrum should not be taken too narrowly.

Judges:

Laws LJ, Rix LJ, Rimer LJ

Citations:

[2008] EWCA Civ 285, Times 14-May-2008, [2009] 1 WLR 549, (2008) 102 BMLR 57, [2008] PNLR 25, [2009] 1 WLR 549

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedCharles v Hugh James Jones and Jenkins (A Firm) CA 22-Dec-1999
Where a personal injury claimant’s claim had been lost because of the solicitor’s negligence, the notional time for assessment of damages was the time at which a trial might properly have been expected to have been held. This did not however . .
CitedMcKay v Essex Area Health Authority 1982
A child has no claim for damage to him arising from his birth. The plaintiff had been born with congenital rubella syndrome. . .

Cited by:

CitedEdwards v Hugh James Ford Simey Solicitors SC 20-Nov-2019
The claimant sought damages saying that the defendant solicitors had failed to secure the incremental award of compensation under the vibration white finger scheme. The central issue was whether evidence which only became available later, but which . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Professional Negligence

Updated: 09 May 2022; Ref: scu.268795