Practitioners in the legacy claims market are sensitive to case
law and legislation of relevance to them. The decision of the
Supreme Court of
Dryden regarding sensitivity to platinum will prove to be
important to the claims market in the long term.
The decision has broadened what constitutes an actionable
personal injury, which will have significant implications going
forward.
Dryden made clear that should an employer's
negligence result in a 'physiological change' to
an employee, then the employee may be entitled to claim
compensation for any financial losses resulting, even in the event
that the physiological change is asymptomatic. The judgment may
prompt additional claims for minimal and imperceptible injuries,
with the argument likely to be advanced that the physiological
change has left a claimant worse off in some measure. Nonetheless,
there do remain issues of causation for claimants to cross.
