Dear Colleagues:

If you are interested in empirical work on the operation of the tort law system, you will find the following recent articles by ODGer Richard Lewis of great value:

R. Lewis, “When People Matter: Finding Humanity in Tort Law” [2019] Journal of Personal Injury Law 10 - 32.

This article examines whether the character of people involved in personal injury claims affects their

outcome irrespective of the legal rules. For example, does the personality or background of the litigants

or their lawyers influence whether an action succeeds and how much damages are then paid? … The article challenges

traditional perspectives of tort where it is often implicit that claims are resolved only in court on the basis

of textbook rules on liability and damages. There has been a failure to take account of other factors which

may influence both the settlement of claims and the very few cases that go to trial. In this wider context,

the article forms part of a literature revealing that the operation of the tort system in practice differs

markedly from that in theory. It calls into question those philosophies of tort liability which fail to consider

how claims are actually determined.

R. Lewis, “Strategies and Tactics in Litigating Personal Injury Claims: Tort Law in Action” [2018] Journal of Personal Injury Law 113 - 136

This article reveals some of the tactics which lawyers may use when conducting personal injury litigation.

The research is empirically based by being drawn from structured interviews with a cross section of

practitioners. This qualitative evidence helps to place the rules of tort in a wider context and suggests

that tactical considerations may affect the outcome of individual cases irrespective of their legal merits.

A range of strategies are considered here to illustrate how they may be used at different points during the

litigation. In addition, the article updates our understanding of the compensation system by considering

the practitioners’ responses in the light of the major changes made to this area of practice in recent years.

It reveals how negotiation tactics have developed since research in this area was last carried out. Overall,

the article adds to a very limited literature dealing with negotiation and settlement of personal injury

claims in the UK. The picture of litigation painted here runs counter to the misleading image of

individualised court-based justice that is often portrayed as the defining characteristic of tort law.

Happy Reading,

Jason Neyers
Professor of Law
Faculty of Law
Western University
Law Building Rm 26
e. jneyers@uwo.ca
t. 519.661.2111 (x88435)