Disease
Find out more about DWF's disease team

Company restoration and limitation periods: Do all claims remain stayed against a company in liquidation?
In a judgment handed down last week, the High Court dismissed a claimant's appeal concerning the effect of a company's liquidation on limitation in a noise induced hearing loss claim. DWF's Stephen…
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Offsetting the costs awarded on an interlocutory application against damages where settlement is reached by way of Part 36 offer
A defendant in a NIHL claim was entitled to set off monies from a Part 36 settlement in a claimant's favour against an interlocutory costs order in the defendant's favour under section 72 of the…
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NIHL Claims: Court of Appeal guidance on adverse inferences from absence of noise surveys
The Court of Appeal has recently provided a unanimous decision on whether adverse inferences can be drawn in historic NIHL claims against a defendant in the absence of documents. Jess Wong considers…
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Noise induced hearing loss: claimant's solicitors ordered to pay wasted costs following late discontinuance
Stephen Symington, Associate Solicitor in the DWF Occupational Health Team in Leeds, acted for the defendant, The Secretary of State for the Department of Transport, in an application to have the…
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Discount Rate: Lord Chancellor sets rate at minus 0.25%
The Lord Chancellor has today announced the outcome of the first discount rate review under the new methodology provided for in the Civil Liability Act 2018.
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The future of disease claims – where is the legacy market heading?
After a turbulent few years in the disease claims market, characterised by the well documented surge in the volume and costs of NIHL claims followed by slow progress towards reform, proposals for FRC…
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Living mesothelioma claims: 'lost years'
A £4m 'lost years' claim turned down in the High Court this week illustrates the differences that can exist between a claim brought by a still living claimant and one brought after death by dependents…
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Failure to restore company to the register: appeal judgment supports strike out of deafness claim in light of claimant's defaults
Patrick McBrien of DWF's disease team has succeeded in applying for this occupational deafness claim to be struck out and then more recently in resisting the claimant's appeal against the district…
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NIHL fundamental dishonesty finding
DWF working with Allianz Insurance has succeeded in obtaining a finding of fundamental dishonesty in a claim for noise induced hearing loss, where it emerged that the claimant had brought a similar…
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Court of appeal costs guidance where claimant fails to use MOJ portal
William MacKenzie outlines the findings in the recent Court of Appeal decision in Williams v The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (2018)
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