Appeal in JR accommodation claim settled
Just 2 days before the Court of Appeal was due to hear the claimant’s appeal in JR v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the NHS made a substantial payment to the claimant, thereby closing down the appeal. Rob Weir QC had intervened in the appeal on behalf of the Personal Injuries Bar Association. Settlement of the appeal means that the uncertainty continues as to the status of Roberts v Johnstone and the appropriate method for calculating damages for accommodation. The approach which PIBA was promoting to the Court of Appeal was that:
- Damages will not put the claimant back in the position he or she would have been in unless they are sufficient to enable the claimant to purchase a suitable property (and without having to make use of damages recovered for other heads of loss).
- If the defendant offers the claimant a capital loan for the claimant’s lifetime, with a charge on the claimant’s new home, that would suffice to meet the claimant’s loss.
- Alternatively, If the defendant offers a PPO, matching interest on a suitable mortgage, that would also meet the claimant’s loss.
- Failing that, the defendant is unlikely to be able to show that the claimant has failed to mitigate his loss if the claimant seeks to recover the full capital sum from the defendant.
PIBA's skeleton argument, drafted by Rob Weir QC, can be accessed here.
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