Welcome to: Negligence UK

Professional Negligence Claims Nationwide

The wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair, Cherie Booth has a new legal textbook on negligence law, which came hot off the press on February 28th, is already sparking debate between those who claim it supports what has been dubbed a compensation culture and those who assert that individuals should be able to file negligence claims against public authorities.

The crux of the matter is that negligent public authorities would have to spend limited public funds to respond to these private claims, an especially troublesome dilemma in such areas as education, where liabilities are not tangible.

Cherie Booth (Blair) became a barrister in 1976 and Queen's Counsel in 1995. In 1999 she was appointed a permanent part-time judge in the County Court and Crown Court. She is Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University, and Governor of the London School of Economics and the Open University. She is a founding member of Matrix Chambers, London, from which she continues to practise as a barrister. Matrix Chambers were formed in the Year 2000 and specialises in human rights law. Booth specialises in employment, discrimination and public law and in this capacity has sometimes represented claimants taking cases against the UK government.

Defending her 944-page tome as a tool badly needed by individuals seeking redress against Social or Emergency Services, educational institutions, regulatory agencies, housing and highway authorities, and the Armed Forces, Cherie Booth said, "I hope it will lead to better decision-making by public authorities, lawyers and the courts in the future." The negligence liability of public authorities is a particularly problematic area of law where courts are increasingly grappling with the determination of the extent to which the public nature of a defendant should affect civil liability. Despite its growing importance, there is little of a comprehensive nature written on this area.

This book is a thorough account of the law on the negligence liability of public authorities, providing practical guidance as well as a clear analysis of this developing area of law.

Divided into two parts, with the first part focuses on the extent to which the public nature of a defendant affects civil liability and the principles that govern and limit that liability. In particular the text considers what is meant by a public authority for the purposes of negligence liability, the duty of care that public authorities owe, standards of care and damages and remedies available. Part two considers the law as it impacts upon specific areas of public authorities' activities. Particular functions undertaken by public authorities are reviewed, describing in detail the circumstances under which negligence liability has been or is likely to be imposed.

Cherie Booth called her book, 'The Negligence Liability of Public Authorities' a labour of love.