The annual scramble for places in the Two Castles 10k run will take place at midday on Monday, March.
Each year runners battle to secure one of the 4,000 entries in this ever popular race between the castles at Warwick and Kenilworth.

Within hours of the registration going live online, all the places are snapped up and a waiting list of hundreds quickly builds up, according to organisers Kenilworth Rotary Club.

Race organiser Rotarian Philip Southwell said: “There is always a stampede for places as both the serious athletes and the not so serious recreational runners try to get their hands on an entry number. This will be our 33rd year and the race has never been more popular.”

This year’s event, which will be run on Sunday June 14, is being sponsored by Leamington solicitors Blythe Liggins for the 10th consecutive year. Joint senior partner Richard Thornton said: “We have been the main sponsor since 2005 and have really enjoyed our involvement. Most members of the firm get involved, either as runners or marshals or even manning our water station.

“It’s been a fantastic event and I can’t praise Kenilworth Rotary Club enough for their organisation – and for raising more than £100,000 each year for charity.”

Anyone wishing to register should visit www.twocastlesrun.org.uk after midday on Monday March 2.

CAPTION: Blythe Liggins joint senior partner Richard Thornton (centre) joins Two Castles race organiser Philip Southwell (left) and Kenilworth Rotary Club president David Johnson.

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Leamington solicitors Blythe Liggins have been awarded the Law Society’s special accreditation for conveyancing for the fourth consecutive year.

The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) for those law firms with residential property departments is a quality benchmark that recognises excellent client care.

Blythe Liggins partner Tim Lester, residential property team, said: “It can often be difficult for homeowners to choose a firm of solicitors and schemes like this are incredibly useful. CQS accreditation can really help them to make an informed decision based on performance and quality, measured against an industry standard.”

CAPTION: Blythe Liggins partner Tim Lester with the Law Society’s accreditation.

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Former England rugby international Richard Moon is carving out a name for himself as a radio rugby pundit.

Richard, who lives near Stratford and is head of employment law at Leamington solicitors Blythe Liggins, is summarising Wasps matches at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry for BBC CWR, following the former London club’s recent move.

“It’s great fun and keeps me in involved with the game,” said Richard, who has long been summarising and interviewing for BBC CWR at Coventry RFC matches, and appearing on the station’s regular RucknMaul rugby show with former Coventry player John Butler.

Richard played scrum half for England, the Barbarians and Cambridge University – where he played inside future England fly-half Rob Andrew, now the Rugby Football Union’s professional rugby director. Richard’s brother Rupert also played scrum half – for Wales.

Some of the Wasps matches are going out live on 5 Live Sports Extra, including Richard’s interview with BBC rugby correspondent Ian Robertson.

CAPTION: BBC radio rugby pundits Richard Moon (left) and John Butler.

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The clinical negligence team at Blythe Liggins welcomes the proposals put forward by the Royal College of Surgeons to improve standards of care in cosmetic surgery.

Whilst a surgeon must be registered and licenced by the GMC to undertake cosmetic procedures, there is currently no requirement for the surgeon to prove their expertise within the relevant region of the body being operated on.

The Cosmetic Surgery Interspeciality Committee (‘CSIC’) set up by the Royal College of Surgeons in 2013 proposes that patients in the private sector should have access to clear, unbiased and credible information about their surgeon.

Caption: Lois Harrison, Chartered Legal Executive in the Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Team

Under the new proposals, the surgeons would have to show that they meet new standards of training in order to be certified and included on a register, which would be publicly accessible. This will enable the patient to obtain vital information on their surgeon and their area of expertise.

Certification would only permit surgeons in the private sector to undertake cosmetic surgery on the areas of the body that relates to the speciality they trained in.

The Chair of CSIC and Vice President of the Royal College of Surgeons, Mr Stephen Cannon, said:

“We are determined to ensure that there are the same vigorous standards for patients undergoing cosmetic surgery in the UK as other types of surgery. This Consultation provides the next step in establishing clear and high standards for training and practice so that all surgeons in the UK are certified to the same level, irrespective of where they trained”.

Lois Harrison, a Chartered Legal Executive in the Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Department at Blythe Liggins said “It is extremely encouraging to see that tighter regulation is being proposed in the field of private cosmetic surgery. The new system being put forward is only voluntary, however, and so this will limit the amount of protection it will provide to patients. The proposals are certainly a step in the right direction, however, and I hope that they will lead to a mandatory register to enable patients to ascertain their surgeon’s area of expertise before proceeding with them”.

Caption: Lois Harrison, Chartered Legal Executive in the Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Team

Victims of medical negligence could be entitled to thousands of pounds in compensation, according to a Leamington solicitor who has appeared on BBC Watchdog as an adviser on personal injury.

Claire Kirwan, head of personal injury at Blythe Liggins, has extensive experience in the specialist area of medical negligence and has fought successfully for clients against NHS Trusts, private consultants and GP.

Throughout January and February she will be running a series of all-day drop-in clinics at the Rugby Road law firm. “These matters can be particularly distressing for clients,” said Claire, an active member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers who has acted for clients across the country.

Claire, who has appeared as an adviser on Sky’s Legal TV and BBC Watchdog, said her medical negligence case files included a wide range of actions. For example, when pregnancy or childbirth has not been properly managed, life-changing surgery as a result of misdiagnosis of cancer; missed fractures on x-rays; delays in treating injuries; failure to detect a brain tumour; even death resulting from being discharged from hospital post-surgery without adequate checks.

“The majority of these clients are in pain, face disruption in their life or have lost a loved one and they need to be treated with understanding, kindness and sensitivity.”

Most recently she has been acting for clients who have suffered with faulty hip replacements, winning compensation from the hip manufacturer with the operations having been carried out at Warwick Hospital, University Hospital in Coventry, Northampton Hospital, Horton Hospital, George Eliot Hospital and Leicester Royal Infirmary.

“Any patient who has undergone corrective surgery as a result of a faulty metal-on-metal replacement hip – mainly those using the DePuy Johnson & Johnson ASR product which has since been recalled from the market – could be entitled to as much as £20,000 in compensation.

“Clearly there has been enough evidence to suggest that some metal-on-metal hip implants were not fit for purpose and were failing at a much bigger rate than other types – and should have been banned. The warning signs were there for some time but no one acted and patients’ lives were bighted unnecessarily.”

Personal injury claims

As well as medical negligence, Claire has also advised in a wide variety of differing personal injury claims (often worth significant amounts for her clients), from road traffic accidents and tripping or slipping, to employment issues and accidents at work. She has also handled claims for bad holiday experiences, food poisoning, product liability, dental negligence and even
against hairdressers for damaging hair.

Richard Thornton, joint senior partner at Blythe Liggins, said: “Claire’s vast experience and wide knowledge of personal injury and medical negligence claims help her to always put each client’s needs first, and her attention to detail, analytical mind and ability to win arguments against her opponents give her an advantage over her competitors. She leaves no stone unturned in the pursuit of justice for her clients.”

Anyone wishing to attend one of Claire’s free consultation clinics should call 01926 831231 or email cmk@blytheliggins.co.uk

CAPTION: Claire Kirwan

“Better to be transparent”, this is what one of our leading Judges decided in London when Sir Peter Singer ordered a husband to pay costs.

Mr Thierry, who lived overseas, did not deal with financial disclosure in an honest way and sought to hide his financial wealth from the Court and from his wife by entering into very complex financial arrangements.

Even though the matrimonial Court during the divorce proceedings gave Mr Thierry every opportunity to disclose his financial position to his wife and to the Court, he consistently failed to do so. In fact the Court took such a dim view of Mr Thierry’s failure to disclose his financial position they ordered him to be imprisoned for 4 months. He only escaped imprisonment because he was living overseas.

Sir Peter Singer said of Mr Thierry that he was “an unprincipled rogue who has acted in a financially predatory fashion to prey on his wife for his own profit and to her substantial detriment”.

The Courts have wide powers to ensure that there is full financial disclosure during all divorce cases between a husband and wife. If either attempt to conceal assets they can be penalised by being ordered to pay the other party’s costs. In this case Mr Thierry had to pay all of his wife’s costs and was financially penalised by the Court for not disclosing his financial position and for being deliberately dishonest.

Caption: Andrew Brooks. Partner, Family Team

SprayCraft, a car body repair service which specialises in same-day alloy wheels refurbishment and paint repairs, has moved to much larger premises on the Heathcote Industrial Estate in Warwick after a boom in business.

Managing director Sid Sidhu, who has invested more than £250,000 in the very latest equipment for the new site, said the company had outgrown the previous premises across the road in just three years.
In addition to a new spray booth for car body repairs, the company has also invested heavily in the very latest equipment for alloy wheel refurbishment, including a diamond cutting machine, which fast-reads the wheel and enables SprayCraft to refurbish four wheels in a day, where others are taking up to two weeks. “As far as I know it’s the only one in the region,” he said.

There has also been investment in a new hydraulic lift (capable of lifting four tons), a water wash powder coating booth, specialist spray guns and a digital paint mixing system.“With customers such as local franchised dealership groups and independent prestige car showrooms, we need the best,” said Mr Sidhu.

As well as the alloy wheel diamond cutting service, SprayCraft undertakes car body repairs, such as bumper scrapes, scratches and dents to bodywork, a powder coating service, and alloy wheel custom colour changes.

“We are always happy for customers to drop in for a free estimate and advice on any repair that they may require,” said Mr Sidhu.

Commercial solicitor Nick Watts from Leamington law firm Blythe Liggins, who advises Mr Sidhu on business matters and who handled the conveyancing, said SprayCraft was a booming business. “I handled the conveyancing of his original premises on the other side of Hurlbutt Road less than four years ago and was amazed at the speed with which the business had outgrown them. The new premises at Unit 15 Hurlbutt Road are about four times the size.

“SprayCraft has a well-earned reputation among car franchises, national chains, car body repair shops and Midlands’s motorists,” said Mr Watts.

More information can be obtained by visiting spraycraftrepairs.co.uk or calling 01926 332060 or 01926 428484.

CAPTION: Before and after: Sid Sidhu and Nick Watts holding an alloy wheel after diamond cutting, while other wheels in the foreground await refurbishment.

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Claire Kirwan was delighted to be invited to Free Radio’s concert at the LG Arena in Birmingham on Saturday night. Blythe Liggins have been advertising on Free Radio (formerly Mercia) for over 13 years with Claire providing the voiceover for their popular commercials. Among the performers were Ed Sheerhan, Olly Murs and McBusted and a massive £16,243 was raised for Stephen’s Story and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Caption: Claire Kirwan pictured with JD, the breakfast presenter on Free Radio

Many people wrongly assume that they are automatically entitled to compensation if they injure themselves at work or whilst on another person’s premises. This is simply not the case. In order to bring a claim, you have to prove on the balance of probabilities that the third party has somehow been negligent and if you are unable to do this then you will not be entitled to any compensation at all.

Genuine accidents do occur through either nobody’s fault at all or perhaps due to a person’s own carelessness. If you trip up in your local supermarket but there was no visible hazard then you cannot simply argue that the supermarket is responsible for the injuries you sustained. How can they be expected to repair a walkway or clear a hazard if there is no visible defect? Equally, if you fall downstairs at work and there was nothing on the stairs to make you fall, you were not carrying a heavy load and the handrail was not broken then, again, you cannot argue that your employers should compensate you. Genuine accidents are just that – accidents.

But can there be any middle ground where a third party and the injured party are both somehow held to blame? This is where an injured party proves that the third party is liable for the accident but then the Defendant argues that the injured party is ‘contributory negligent’ for what occurred. A 2004 Court of Appeal is still good law for showing that employees can often be found more blameworthy than their employers, despite primary liability being established. The Claimant in Sherlock -v- Chester City Council lost his left thumb and index finger whilst using a circular saw. Even though the Court found that his employers had been in breach of various statutory duties towards the Claimant, they held the Claimant 60% to blame for the accident because he was highly experienced and knew that he should have sought the assistance of a colleague or, alternatively, a second workbench to balance the bowing wood on.

The effect of being held partially to blame for an accident means that your compensation will be reduced by the same proportion as you have been found responsible. In the case mentioned above, therefore, the Claimant’s damages were reduced by 60% which represents a considerable reduction to his claim. It is indeed surprising in this case that he was found to be more to blame than his employers!

You can also be held partly to blame if you have somehow made your injuries worse. A common example of this is where you are involved in a road traffic accident and you are not wearing your seatbelt. If, by wearing your seatbelt, your injuries would not have been as bad then your damages can be reduced by up to 25%.

The lesson to be learnt is, therefore, that injured people cannot automatically pin the blame on the third party. Genuine accidents will not attract any compensation and, even when you can prove that an accident is someone else’s fault, you may face an allegation that you were partly to blame for the accident and your damages could be reduced accordingly.

CAPTION: Claire Kirwan. Partner, Personal Injury and Medical Negligence Team

A nationwide campaign designed to crackdown on unsafe and dangerous working practices on building sites across Britain is being welcomed by injury lawyers at Blythe Liggins.

A four week series of unannounced inspections have been announced, to tackle poor standards and unsafe working practices which lead to incidents resulting in injury or even death.

The HSE’s new chief inspector of construction, Philip White, said ‘Time and again we find smaller contractors working on refurbishment and repair work failing to protect their workers through a lack of awareness and poor control of risks. This is not acceptable – it costs lives, and we will take strong and robust action where we find poor practice and risky behaviour’.

Lois Harrison, a lawyer in the Blythe Liggins’ personal injury team, said ‘Accidents on construction sites are an all too common occurrence and can have huge ramifications for the injured party, from a loss of earnings to life changing injuries. This campaign will help to crack down on poor standards which lead to avoidable injuries and educate employers about practical standards which lead to a safer working environment’.