The Covid-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on every aspect of life in the UK giving rise to significant challenges to every business and in every workplace in the Country. As a leading Defendant Insurance Practice Plexus Law have been heavily involved in assisting our Clients, both insurers and corporate, in meeting these challenges in a proactive and practical way.
Plexus Law are already instructed to act on a number of Covid-19 related matters arising out of claims, potential claims, insurance policy indemnity issues and potential criminal regulatory issues. We have advised Clients in the following industries in respect of their Covid-19 response and planning as well as in respect of specific incidents giving rise to potential civil and criminal regulatory actions:
- The Care Sector
- Aviation/Travel
- Retail
- Food Production
- Manufacturing
- Construction
Plexus Law have also been heavily involved in assisting certain leading Insurers in their response to the pandemic and the issues arising out of it. Resulting from that work several articles have been published and some practice tools developed as follows:
The Plexus Law ‘’Covid-19 Defence Pack and Guidance Tracker’’
A Defendant that can evidence positive steps to keep abreast of and comply with the applicable guidance in force at the time will be in a strong position to defend any Civil or Regulatory action. The Defence Pack and Guidance Tracker is a tool we have developed to assist with this by collating evidence and formulating the basis of a response to any Civil or Regulatory action arising out of Covid-19 related deaths or injuries. The Guidance Tracker is essentially a chronology with a timeline on the left summarising the changing applicable guidance in force with hyperlinks to the full guidance and then a section on the right for the Client to complete their narrative of steps taken with references to appropriate documentation, the Introduction to the Tracker setting out a non-exhaustive list of the types of documents one would expect to see in support. The Tracker is live on the Plexus Law website (link below) and includes different Trackers for the constituent Nations of the UK where guidance has diverged.
The Plexus Law Covid-19 Defence Pack and Guidance Tracker is already in use by several insurers and in turn their policyholders. To view/download the guidance trackers please click here.
The Plexus Law ‘Causation in Civil Claims’ Handling Note
Causation will inevitably be contested in the vast majority of claims arising out of Covid-19 infection outside of front-line medical services. A consistent approach is required on the issue and with a view to this, and to assist our insurer Clients in formulating their own approach, we have produced a Handling Note setting out a thorough discussion of the issues, arguments on both sides and crucially proposed robust and reasoned responses to any effects to establish causation in such cases on anything other than the traditional balance of probabilities ‘’but for’’ basis. To view this note please click here.
Partners within the Firm have also had articles published in a number of publications on issues arising out of Covid-19 such as the following:
- Modern Insurance Magazine – ‘Liability in the time of Covid’ by Anthony Baker
- Insurance Post – ‘The Rise in Casualty Claims Post Covid-19’ by Anthony Baker
- Insurance Day Magazine – ‘Covid-19 Demands a New Approach to Casualty Claims’ by Carl McGuire
There are also a number of internally published ‘Legal Insight’ articles addressing issues arising out of Covid-19 on our website and which have been distributed to Clients, for example the article on the fraught issue of RIDDOR reporting in Covid-19 infection cases given the less than clear guidance that has been issued on the subject. These articles are available on the dedicated Covid-19 section of our website which can be accessed by clicking here.
Within the firm a national team of Partners/Associates will lead the Plexus Law Covid-19 offering as follows:
Leeds
Anthony Baker, Partner and President of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL)
T: 0113 468 1702 | M: 07811 545 321 | E: anthony.baker@plexuslaw.co.uk | Bio
Carl McGuire, Partner
T: 0113 468 1769 | M: 07980 941 324 | E: carl.mcguire@plexuslaw.co.uk | Bio
London and Chelmsford
Andrew Caplan, Partner
T: 01245 951 730 | M: 07477 929 690 | E: andrew.caplan@plexuslaw.co.uk | Bio
Martin Taylor, Associate
T: 01245 951 718 | M: 07779 437 419 | E: martin.taylor@plexuslaw.co.uk | Bio
Evesham
Damon Burt, Partner
T: 01386 578 858 | M: 07870 257 141 | E: damon.burt@plexuslaw.co.uk | Bio
Anthony Bushell, Partner
T: 01386 578 886 | M: 07866 634 085 | E: anthony.bushell@plexuslaw.co.uk | Bio
Manchester
Nicola Skeldon, Partner
T: 0161 2457 927 | M: 07584 147 893 | E: nicola.skeldon@plexuslaw.co.uk | Bio
Edinburgh
Calum Mathieson, Partner
T: 0131 3709 103 | M: 07890 590 105 | E: calum.mathieson@plexuslaw.co.uk | Bio
To download the information above as a PDF please click here.
