PXT v (A Child by her Mother and Litigation Friend, AXD)
| Court | King's Bench Division |
| Judge | Master Brown |
| Neutral Citation | [2024] EWHC 1372 (KB) |
| Date | 06 June 2024 |
| Year | 2024 |
| Counsel | Alexander Hutton Kc,Pj Kirby Kc |
Approved Judgment
PXT v Atere-Roberts
Neutral Citation Number: [2024] EWHC 1372 (KB)
Case No: KB-2022-004340
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
KING'S BENCH DIVISION
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
Date: 6 June 2024
Before : Master Brown
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Between :
PXT
(A Child by her Mother and Litigation Friend, AXD) Claimant
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MR DAVID ATERE-ROBERTS Defendant
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Alexander Hutton KC (instructed by Bolt Burdon Kemp LLP) for the Claimant
PJ Kirby KC (instructed by Keoghs LLP) for the Defendant
Hearing date: 2 May 2024
Draft circulated: 31 May 2024
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Approved Judgment
This judgment was handed down remotely on 6 June 2024 by circulation to the parties by
email.
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Approved Judgment
PXT v Atere-Roberts
Master Brown:
1. I am asked to order costs budgets in this case. The Claimant is a child, and her claim is
not therefore automatically costs budgeted. Further, although when issued on 9 November
2022 no value was attributed to the claim in the Claim Form, it is said on behalf of the
Claimant that in due course the claim is likely to be for more than £10 million and so for this
further reason automatic costs budgeting provisions would not apply to this claim. The
Defendant however applies for an order that the claim be costs budgeted arguing that on the
particular facts of this case such costs management is appropriate and necessary. The
Claimant opposes the application; it is said on her behalf that the claim is not suitable for
costs budgeting and that the question whether the claim can be costs managed by cost
budgeting can be reconsidered at a CMC anticipated in about May of next year.
2. There has been very detailed argument from both sides. Below I set out the
background and, in summary, the various arguments. For reasons, which are also set out
below (at some length), in this particular case, and having regard to the very serious and
real concerns that without costs budgeting the costs will be excessive and unreasonable, in
my judgment it is appropriate to costs manage this claim by costs budgeting and to do sooner
rather later.
Background
3. The Claimant suffered serious injury on 10 October 2021, shortly before turning 11,
when she was struck by a vehicle driven by the Defendant. Liability for that accident was
agreed on an 85/ 15 split in the Claimant’s favour. This compromise was approved on 22
June 2023 when I also made directions for the resolution of issues of quantum.
4. Amongst other injuries (including in particular hip and rib injuries) the Claimant
appears to have suffered a serious brain injury. The Defendant has not yet served any
medical evidence, and service of such evidence is not expected until November of this year. I
have also only received some of the medical evidence which is likely to be relied upon by the
Claimant. It is the brain injury which features in the evidence so far served and it is evidence
in respect of this injury which is relied upon in this application.
5. In particular, Dr Agrawal, paediatric neurology expert, describes the Claimant as
having suffered a “very severe (catastrophic) traumatic brain injury (TBI)”. He says that the
“main brunt of this brain injury was borne by her right hemisphere of the brain resulting in
left sided weakness and global developmental difficulties”. He goes on to say that she is
“left with severe neurodisability as a result with permanent problems in neurocognitive and
behavioural domains”.
6. Further, and importantly for the purposes of the argument in this application, in a
letter dated 1 June 2023 he says this:
“Although she already is displaying severe neurodisability as a result of her injury, it is
too early for me to give an accurate prognosis to the full effects of her TBI. It is
probable her disability and care needs will evolve in the coming years. As such, it
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