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High Court dismisses personal injuries proceedings, on the grounds that the plaintiff had been guilty of inordinate and inexcusable delay in the commencement and prosecution of the proceedings, on the grounds that: (a) the delay in the proceedings was inordinate; (b) the submission that the delay was excusable due to it taking several years to obtain an expert report was rejected; (c) the failure of the two defendants to deliver a defence on time was not conduct which amounted to acquiesce; (d) given the seriousness of the allegations against the surgeon, i.e. that he was not only guilty of negligence but also guilty of deceit and the deliberate concealment of the allegedly defective nature of the product, the balance of justice points towards dismissing the proceedings in order to vindicate the surgeon’s right to a good name; and (e) there was a real and serious risk of an unfair trial and/or an unjust result.
Personal injuries proceedings - application to dismiss the proceedings on the grounds of inordinate and inexcusable delay - plaintiff sought damages arising out of a hip replacement operation performed on 17 August 1995 - proceedings were instituted on the 4th February 2011 - the proceedings were brought against the orthopaedic surgeon who performed the initial and subsequent operations, and against the manufacturers and suppliers of the hip device - Liability for Defective Products Act 1991 - whether a fair trial and just result is possible given the length of time since the operation - whether the delay was inordinate - whether the delay was inexcusable - whether the balance of justice is in favour of or against allowing the proceedings to go to full trial - proceedings dismissed.
Note: This is intended to be a fair and accurate report of a decision made public by a court of law. Any errors should be notified to the editor and will be dealt with accordingly.
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