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ARTICLE · 06 DECEMBER 2023

Divisible Or Indivisible Injury? It Might Be Immaterial

Weightmans LLP
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The court held that the doctrine of material contribution can apply as much to indivisible injuries as it can to those that are divisible.

United KingdomLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Christian Lowden
Christian Lowden

The court held that the doctrine of material contribution can apply as much to indivisible injuries as it can to those that are divisible.

A new judgment from the Court of Appeal in Holmes v Poeton Holding Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 1377 on this difficult area of law provides further guidance which is unlikely to be welcomed by defendants.

The circumstances in which the established "but for" causation test is modified have long been controversial.

Legal practitioners, experts, and courts have wrestled with the applicability of material contribution where the traditional test is inappropriate.

In Thorley v Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust [2021] EWHC 2604, Justice Soole described the law on material contribution as "ripe for authoritative review" which is hardly surprising given some of the prior inconsistent rulings.

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