Temple Garden Chambers is a leading common law set based in London and The Hague.
With excellence from top to bottom Chambers provides a first class service in a number of different fields.
Temple Garden Chambers is a leading common law set based in London and The Hague.
With excellence from top to bottom Chambers provides a first class service in a number of different fields.
19/12/2024
Lionel Stride (instructed by Rebecca Smith at Stewarts) represented the Claimant, a trainee parachutist, in a High Court spinal cord injury claim arising out of a parachuting accident. The Claimant, a foreign national, alleged that her training had been inadequate and, in particular, that the Defendant had failed to risk assess or adequately monitor whether her proficiency in English had been sufficient to understand the technical language on the course. She contended that she should never have been allowed to undertake the jump without retraining and relied upon the evidence of fellow students on the course; her poor responses to the written examination undertaken prior to the jump; and disclosure from the Defendant that it had been aware of problems relating to English proficiency for several years. Liability was fully denied, with the Defendant disputing the inadequacy of the training, or that the Claimant’s understanding had been demonstrably insufficient to undertake the jump. The critical issue was the appropriate standard of care for a parachuting company and the extent to which this extended to assessing and monitoring a student’s language proficiency. Both parties were relying on expert evidence as to the relevant guidelines and standard of care and the case would have set legal precedent, there being no similar reported case relating to parachuting schools. The matter was proceeding to a split liability trial in January 2025 but the parties managed to settle the claim at a mediation shortly before its commencement on confidential and mutually satisfactory terms.
