Areas of Expertise

• Personal Injury

  Damian is listed in the 2021 edition of the Legal 500 as a leading junior, Tier 2, for Personal Injury on the Midlands Circuit. His entry states that he “provides effective, detailed, and accurate advice in an efficient manner.”

  Damian acts for both Claimants and Defendants in a wide range of personal injury claims before the High Court, Coroners’ Courts and the County Court (on the multi-track and the fast track). These claims include cases involving fatal accidents, employers’ liability claims, claims arising from defective premises, public liability claims, claims under the Highways Act 1980, occupiers’ liability claims and claims arising out of road traffic accidents (including credit hire claims).

  He regularly represents parties in the above types of claim at hearings such as: show cause hearings, inquests, costs and case management conferences, applications, telephone hearings, remote hearings by video conferencing and, of course, trials.

  Damian has considerable experience in settling pleadings, advising professional and lay clients in writing and in conference and representing parties at joint settlement meetings and mediations.

• Counter Fraud

  For many years Damian undertook serious criminal work in the Crown Court and Court of Appeal, including fraud cases, where he honed his trial advocacy and cross-examination skills. It gives him a particular advantage when acting in personal injury trials where there are allegations of fraud or fundamental dishonesty.

• Disease

  Damian has particular experience in mesothelioma claims, having been regularly instructed by the legal department of one of London’s emergency services to deal with such claims on its behalf. He is currently instructed in a mesothelioma claim before the High Court involving issues of jurisdiction and choice of law (the law of which country applies) where some of the Claimant’s exposure to asbestos occurred in several different foreign countries.

  Damian has appeared in a number of recent, notable county court cases in the area of noise induced hearing loss [‘NIHL’].

  He acted for the First Defendant in the matter of Leonard Fotherby v (1) Quibell & Sons (Holdings) Ltd, (2) Strata Construction Ltd & (3) Togel Contractors Ltd, 14th December 2018, unreported, DJ Josling at Sheffield County Court [‘Fotherby’] in which, after a 2-day multi-track trial at Sheffield County Court, where the Court heard expert medical evidence from Mr Mirza for the Claimant and Professor Lutman for the Defendants, DJ Josling accepted the evidence of Professor Lutman on de minimis that was rejected in Evans -v- Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change & JJ Maintenance Limited, 14th November 2017, unreported and dismissed the claim on the basis the Claimant’s NIHL was de minimis. Fotherby is now frequently relied upon by Defendants in similar de minimis NIHL cases. To read the article/press release, please click here.

  In the matter of Hoy v (1) Secretary of State for the Department of Transport (2) Middle East Holding Ltd, 17th October 2019, unreported, DJ Robinson at Middlesbrough County Court [‘Hoy’], Damian represented the First Defendant in its successful application for an order that the Claimant’s solicitors pay the First Defendant’s wasted costs following the late discontinuance of a NIHL claim. Hoy has subsequently been cited in a number of similar applications before the County Court. At the time of writing, it is subject to appeal to the circuit judge. To read the full article/press release, please click here.

• Clinical Negligence

  Damian represents both Claimants and Defendants in a wide range of clinical negligence claims involving NHS Trusts, GPs and dentists.

  He has appeared on behalf of families at coroners’ inquests where clinical negligence proceedings are being contemplated.

• Criminal Regulatory

  Damian has considerable experience of prosecuting and defending in cases of regulatory crime, in particular, environmental, health and safety and trading standards prosecutions. He was recently instructed by a local authority to prosecute a defendant for offences under s.33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Damian drafted the indictment, settled a detailed opening note and prosecuted the matter before a jury in the Crown Court. Damian is also regularly instructed by various trading standards departments to prosecute regulatory offences before the Crown Court.

About

• Professional Memberships

  • Personal Injuries Bar Association

• Education

  • LLM, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
  • LLB (Hons), University of East Anglia