David Rivers

DAVID's PRACTICE AREAS

• a four party fatal accident act claim for the widow of a van driver employed by one of the defendants killed by a train when attempting to cross an unmanned user worked rail crossing with no barriers or warnings.

• acting for a professional footballer whose chance of promotion to the premiership from a first division team were lost due to a car accident.

• a fatal accidents act claim on behalf of the widow of a passenger in a motor vehicle who was alleged to have been the cause of the accident by directly interfering with the driver immediately prior to his losing control in which there was a three party dispute on indemnity insurance; a major issue about ex turpi causa given the alleged joint enterprise to speed and a sustained challenge to causation, and a significant dispute about contributory negligence.

• a fatal accidents act claim against Ipswich docks in which he acted for the widow of the designer of a system of access to a ship undergoing repair who had fallen over the top of the access platform whilst leaning over the edge to measure to distance from the platform to the dry dock;

• a fatal accident act claim for the dependant mother of a man who was killed trying to run across the dual carriageway which was difficult on liability but also quantum because he was addicted to drugs and had a very uncertain earnings potential and irregular cash based arrangement with his mother.

• a claim against BAA and South Africa Airlines in respect of injuries sustained when the Claimant employee was assaulted by a third party who had managed to breach security at the airport.

• a trial in which a Deputy High Court Judge’s credibility was in issue;

• a claim against Selfridges brought by a well known EastEnders star who was injured in their Manchester store;

• a three day four party split employer’s liability action in front of HHJ Harris QC at which the Claimant had succeeded on liability by the end of the first day with judgment accordingly.

• a number of loss of chance claims have gone to trial recently all of which have resulted in an award to the Claimant in excess of the Defendant’s offers. David has a high success rate in appealling decisions of first instance judges at trial, especially on appeal to the circuit judge.

• a successful appeal of the dismissal of a claim for injuries sustained in a highway tripping accident and substitution of judgment for the Claimant (HHJ Hughes QC: judge had confused objective test for dangerousness with a partly subjective hybrid; having erred in law below it was open to the appeal court to make its own finding and although marginal he would have found the defect dangerous; the defence of reasonable system would have failed as the inspector accepted he may have missed the defect).

• a successful appeal against the dismissal of a work at heights claim on the basis that the claimant could not prove injury (HHJ Neiligan: judge below perverse to have rejected the weight of evidence in claimants favour; high standard to differ from trial judge but duty of judge to do so on appeal when plainly wrong; low value of claim no reason not to interfere).

• a successful appeal against the assessment of damages by the judge below where he had assessed them on a basis that was clearly wrong by the date of the appeal (HHJ Griggs: defendant relied on an inconsistency in history given to the expert and that given to the court by the claimant; if the basis for the expert’s conclusions at trial were capable of challenge at trial it was absolutely clear by the appeal hearing that the Claimants injuries were attributable).