The life of a claimant personal injury lawyer seems to be as miserable as that of our prime minister; everywhere they turn there’s someone ready to make life ever more difficult.

The Supreme Court in its recent ruling in Stocker v Stocker found the High Court and Court of Appeal failed to understand how ordinary people communicate on social media.

Such a complex multi-industry issue as fixed recoverable costs in clinical negligence – weighing up the high costs of litigation against the NHS, versus vital access to justice – is not an easy one to move forward.

Last month’s Supreme Court decision in Takhar considered the fundamental issue of the circumstances in which will the court permit itself to be an instrument of fraud.

A recent judgment of Deputy Master Friston deals with an application made on behalf of the defendants for the partial or total disallowance of the claimant’s costs pursuant to CPR rule 44.11(1)(b).