Clinical Negligence
Chris has been committed to working on behalf of seriously injured people and bereaved families for nearly two decades. He has an established track record of achieving excellent results for claimants in high-value clinical negligence claims.
Chris represents claimants who have suffered catastrophic injuries as a result of medical negligence. His practice encompasses:
- Birth injury claims (including cerebral palsy and brachial plexus injuries);
- Injuries resulting in amputations (including from failures to recognise and treat limb ischaemia);
- Claims involving spinal cord injury (including delays in diagnosis of Cauda Equina Syndrome and failures to diagnose myelopathy);
- Claims involving brain injuries (including avoidable strokes);
- Claims arising from delays in diagnosing cancers.
Chris has a reputation for quickly “getting to the heart” of a clinical negligence claim and providing “clear and eloquent” advice. He is always happy to be involved in the earliest stages of a claim to discuss tactics, expert evidence and a claimant’s rehabilitation needs.
He has a wealth of experience as an advocate in the King’s Bench Division. He has represented claimants at trials of breach and causation as preliminary issues as well as for assessment of damages. He is adept at cross-examination of medical experts and medical lay witnesses. He is recognised the legal directories as a “brilliant” and “extremely tough” advocate.
Chris has a special interest in the engagement of vulnerable claimants in their claims for compensation. He successfully represented the claimant in the first reported case on the ‘vulnerability’ provisions in CPR PD1A: AXX v. Zajac [2022] EWHC 2463.
Chris is also renowned for his skill in producing high value schedules of loss. He negotiates settlements worth millions of pounds every year for seriously injured victims of medical negligence (including at joint settlement meetings and mediations).
Chris’ focus is always on achieving the best possible outcome for his lay clients, both during and at the conclusion of their claims. Securing adequate interim funding to put in place effective rehabilitation is his first priority when taking on any new instruction. His goal in every case is to ensure that his badly injured clients finalise their claims with a sufficient pot of compensation to make positive changes to their lives in the short and long term.
Beyond his practice, Chris has a passion for improving equality and diversity at the bar. His special interest is the prevention of bullying, harassment and discrimination at the bar – a topic on which he has published articles and lectured extensively. He is an officer of the Northern Circuit’s Equality, Diversity and Social Mobility Committee.
Chris is also chair of Exchange Chambers’ pupillage committee and an organiser of the Personal Injury Bar Association’s Northern Circuit Conference.
Clinical Negligence Cases
Case study 1 (2024)
The claimant suffered a total anterior circulation stroke as a result of the defendant’s (admittedly) negligent failure to refer him for anti-coagulant therapy. He was left with profound weakness, spasticity and spasms on his left side and no use of his left hand. Chris was instructed as junior to Chris Barnes KC. They advised on and instituted a caseplan. Chris provided advice on expert evidence and preparation of key witness statements. He drafted the claimant’s schedule of loss, including claims for the cost of obtaining single-storey accommodation and procuring paid support for the remainder of the claimant’s life. A multi-million pound settlement was reached 2 weeks before trial.
Case study 2 (2024)
The claimant suffered a devastating brain injury through mismanagement of her birth. Her mother was sent home from hospital repeatedly whilst in established labour. The defendant’s failure to monitor fetal heart rate during labour meant that signs of distress were missed and delivery was delayed, resulting in injury. After prolonged pre-litigation preparation (during which Chris and David Knifton KC advised with the instructed experts in consultation and drafted proceedings), the defendant admitted liability in its defence and judgment was entered alongside the defendant making a substantial interim payment. Chris is now advising on securing a further interim payment to fund purchase of a large single storey property.
Case study 3 (2023)
The claimant suffered cerebral and spinal cord strokes as a result of alleged failures to provide appropriate treatment for hypotension whilst she was an inpatient at the defendant’s hospital. She was a type 1 diabetic with, amongst other complications, diabetic nephropathy and was in hospital for dialysis treatment when she began to experience low blood pressure and suffered her strokes. Led by David Knifton KC, Chris advised extensively prior to proceedings and drafted the pleadings. The defendant admitted mismanagement of the claimant’s dialysis, but alleged her strokes were unavoidable and unrelated. A six-figure compromise was agreed at JSM reflecting the litigation risks posed by the dispute over causation.
Case study 4 (2023)
The defendant was the claimant’s dentist who missed an oral tumour during a routine check-up, causing a delay in diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma. But for the negligence, the claimant would have been ‘cured’. As a result of the delay, his life expectancy was very short indeed. The claimant’s primary concern was to conclude his claim before he died so that he could know his family would be provided for. Chris settled the pleadings, successfully resisted an application for an extension of time for the defendant’s defence, successfully obtained directions for an expedited trial and represented the claimant at JSM – achieving the claimant’s goal and securing more than half a million pounds in compensation.
