An essential text changing with the times

Any practitioner who has had to muddle through using outdated reference material will certainly appreciate the arrival of the fourth edition of Personal Injury Limitation Law.

While previous editions have offered detailed summaries of each case relating to the topics covered, the exponential growth of reported cases in this area means that this is no longer an attractive prospect for readers. In the reconfiguration of this edition, Roy and Ross have started from a new baseline. As practising barristers, they recognise the demands upon modern lawyers.  What we need from this text is not a recital of information which could be found elsewhere, but exactly what Roy and Ross have given us: a concise account of the legislation and court rules relevant to each topic, along with their expert legal analysis, practical guidance and case summaries for those cases likely to be of key importance.

Other cases relevant to a given topic have simply been listed, allowing practitioners to tap into online legal databases if further information is needed. The effect of these changes is to produce an accessible and ultimately indispensable guide to this complex area of law, ensuring readers will never risk issuing or serving proceedings outside the legal time limits.

Practitioners will welcome the new coverage this reformatting has allowed for. Landmark cases relevant to each of the topics are explored, with their impact on practice explicated for our benefit. It is shown how key cases since publication of previous editions have further shaped the approach to prejudice, reinforced the stringent approach to date of knowledge, and brought together the main authorities and principles relevant to the exercise of the section 33 discretion (to name just a few of the main developments).

For its relative and commendable brevity, this text is a comprehensive and detailed guide to limitation which will assist personal injury solicitors, barristers and insurance companies alike with any limitation matters arising, protecting them from avoidable but costly errors.

As Roy and Ross note, it would be an unfortunate irony if a book on limitation failed to change with the times. This is not the case here. This book is an essential legal text, written with the modern practitioner firmly in mind.

Roisin O’Dubhlaoidh is a solicitor at Royds Withy King, Bath