Areas of Expertise

• Serious Injury

  Ed has a busy and successful serious injury practice, acting for both claimants and defendants, principally in high value cases involving the brain, pain, spinal or other orthopaedic injuries leading to amputation or other life long disability.

  He is an experienced barrister who receives repeat instructions from a wide client base including many of the leading claimant injury firms and major insurers, along with a number of local authorities throughout England.

  Ed is frequently instructed to deal with conferences involving experts, whether that be medical experts, reconstruction experts or forensic accountants, and to attend Joint Settlement Meetings.

  Recent cases have included two very high value claims where he has acted alone against King’s Counsel at Joint Settlement Meetings.

  Ed has also recently been led on two complex, serious injury cases by Jayne Adams KC.

• Personal Injury

  Ed has a busy, established and successful personal injury practice, acting for claimants and defendants, in the County Court and High Court.

  He is repeatedly instructed by some of the leading claimant injury firms and major insurance companies, along with local authorities, to bring or defend claims usually involving injuries of the utmost severity.

  Ed’s current caseload includes workplace accidents, road traffic accidents, defective premises claims, public liability accidents, travel law claims, claims against the occupier and those involving sports related injury.

  Ed has a wealth of experience as an advocate in the County Court and High Court.

  He is regularly instructed by claimants and major insurers to bring or defend product liability claims, which have usually resulted in serious injury.

  He is instructed in relation to defective products and claims brought under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act and the Sale of Goods Act.

  His recent caseload has included cases for the defendant insurer involving defective ski boots/skis (involving experts in multiple disciplines; biomechanics, forensic engineer and winter sports expert) and a claim where the handlebars of a bike broke as the claimant was cycling across London Bridge.

• Counter Fraud

  Ed is consistently instructed on serious injury cases where fraud is involved.

  He is regularly instructed on behalf of several major insurers (Hiscox, Aviva, Zurich, AXA, Allianz, AIG) in respect of allegations of dishonesty and his background in conducting criminal jury trials has greatly assisted him in challenging these types of claim in the civil courts, including Contempt of Court proceedings in the High Court.

  Ed is well versed in drafting Contempt of Court proceedings and representing the defendant client in the District Registry of the High Court.

  In light of his criminal law background, Ed feels equally at home in the civil and criminal courts.

• Sports

  Ed has a particular interest in claims arising from the field of sport, or other outdoor adventure sports, and is regularly instructed by individuals, sporting bodies and insurers to bring or defend sport related, principally injury claims, in the County Court and High Court.

  His recent caseload has included claims relating to accidents in gyms, on the rugby and football pitch, the ski slopes, road cycling accidents, karate lesson incidents and those involving horse riding and golf.

  Ed is also becoming increasingly involved in the disciplinary and regulatory side of sports law and is keen to expand this area of his practice going forward.

  He co-authors a Blog on the Chambers website entitled ‘Concussion in Sport’.

• Inquests

  Ed has been instructed to attend numerous inquests on behalf of a range of interested parties, including the family of the deceased, insurers, employers and private clients.

  Over the years, his exceptional client care skills have been particularly sought after in difficult and sensitive cases in the Coroners Court.

  Ed has recently undertaken a weeklong jury inquest for the family which involved a residential gas explosion in the East Midlands. To read more about this case, please click here.

• Motor

  Throughout his practice, Ed has dealt with motor insurance claims and is still regularly instructed to bring and defend higher value injury claims emanating from accidents on the road.

  Ed is regarded in motor insurance circles as a specialist counter fraud practitioner and is frequently called upon to defend claims where fraud is involved.

• Clinical Negligence

  Ed has a busy and rapidly expanding clinical negligence practice, principally advising and representing claimants at settlement meeting or trial.

  His practice encompasses all aspects of medical and dental law including but not limited to cases involving misdiagnosis, plastic surgery, negligent surgery and treatment or general surgery.

  Ed has recently advised on three cases where negligent treatment or operations resulted in death. One involved a stillborn infant (failure to identity and treat gestational diabetes), another involved a negligently performed heart operation and the third a negligently performed open nephrectomy.

  He fully understands the sensitivities that are required when advising and representing clients in these cases and he is often sought out for his exceptional client care skills in dealing with these types of claims.

• Costs & Litigation Funding

  For many years now, Ed has been called upon to advise and represent clients in cases involving costs, particularly discrete costs disputes in the County Court and High Court.

  Almost every case he is involved in his 20 years or so of practice has resulted in Ed having to deal with and consider the commercial and costs consequences of any settlement or trial.

• Criminal Regulatory

  Ed has substantial experience in defending and mitigating on behalf of corporate clients, employers and individuals in Health and Safety related matters in the Magistrates’ Court, Crown Court and representing clients when necessary in the Coroner’s Court.

• Animals & Equine

  Ed is experienced in dealing with disputes involving animals and he has a good working knowledge of the provisions of the Animals Act 1971.

  He has advised and represented both sides in cases involving animal attacks, principally dog bite claims and escaped animal claims, horse riding accidents on the highway and trespass and nuisance claims involving animals and pets.

About

• Professional Memberships

  Personal Injuries Bar Association

  Criminal Bar Association

  Nottinghamshire Medico-Legal Society

• Qualifications

  MA (Hons) History, University of Edinburgh

• Notable Cases

  Representing the Defendant in a complex, high value injury claim with a pleaded value of £2.4 million. Claimant was represented by a notable Kings Counsel at the JSM.

  Representing the Claimant in a complex, high value case, which was valued at a little under £1 million.  The client had sustained homonymous hemianopia (a serious eye injury) in a road accident.  The defendant was represented by King’s Counsel.  Complex issues of causation arose between the Ophthalmologists.  The Claimant, who lived in South West Wales, had to change his career and was no longer able to drive resulting in a huge impact on his life and ability to find employment.  Claim settled successfully at JSM.

  Representing the Defendant in a complex, high value claim bought by a women who had fallen, sustaining a serious spiral fracture to her leg whilst skiing in the French Alps.  Well known national claimant firm represented the Claimant and but ended up discontinuing the claim once experts in multiple disciplines were involved (forensic engineer, ergonomics and winter sports expert) and arguments advanced which undermined the claim and also the Claimant’s credibility.

  Representing the Claimant in a long running serious injury claim where the client was knocked off his bicycle sustaining extremely serious physical injuries, including a spinal cord injury and a subtle brain injury (no helmet was being worn at the time of the accident).  There were issues as to capacity along with experts in multiple disciplines involved.  Claim steered to a successful conclusion prior to trial.

  Representing the family at a weeklong jury inquest, and the husband of the deceased in the fatal accident claim, arising from a residential gas explosion in the East Midlands.  The explosion had killed the grandmother, injured several others and damaged properties and cars along the residential street.  The family secured a Regulation 28 Report at the Inquest (report to prevent future deaths) and the civil fatal accident claim is now being prepared.

  Representing the Claimant, a firefighter, who was very seriously injured when he collided with a partially submerged plastic bollard whilst undertaking a Water Safety Technician Course at the International White Water Centre in Cardiff.  Claim settled successfully by way of Part 36.

  Representing the Defendant (instructed by the insurer of a large care home organisation), defending a care home stabbing claim.  Parallel Health and Safety Executive proceedings running alongside in the Crown Court.  Claim settled successfully at JSM.

  Representing a young claimant (13 year old boy) who was mauled by a police dog in a public park in the middle of the day.  The police released the dog when a group of young children had run away, having been tampering with the nearby cricket pavilion.  The dog was released, failed to obey commands and caused the Claimant serious life changing injuries to his face and body. T he police sought to argue that the release of the dog had been reasonable given the children had failed to stop.  The claim settled successfully shortly before trial (listed for 5 days), by way of Part 36.

  Representing the Claimant, a Deputy Command Supervisor at a colliery, who was involved in a terrifying underground gas explosion.  The Claimant was unable to use his life saving oxygen mask (Sav-Ox) as a result of a defect with the equipment.  Incredibly, the Claimant managed to escape the mine but not without suffering and being diagnosed with lifelong Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Claim settled successfully, for substantial damages, at JSM.

  Representing the Defendant in committal proceedings for contempt of court in the Kingston-upon-Hull District Registry of the High Court.

  Representing the Claimant, later being led by Jayne Adams QC, in this complex, high value injury claim, resulting from the serious road traffic accident.  Multiple medical experts were involved throughout the life of the claim.  The claim was pleaded in excess of £2 million.

  Representing the Defendant in committal proceedings for Contempt of Court in the Sheffield District Registry of the High Court.  The Claimant brought a serious injury claim but investigations undertaken by the Defendant proved that the claim was a fraud.  The Claimant discontinued his civil claim and the Defendant brought Contempt of Court proceedings.  The Claimant was sent to prison for six months.  Ed appeared at the sentencing hearing for the Defendant.

  Representing the family of the Deceased in a case where a negligently performed open nephrectomy resulted in the death of a young father (who had two children), who was only 48.  The Defendant admitted breach of duty and the fatal accident claim is now being prepared.

  Representing the family of the Deceased in a case where a negligently performed heart operation resulted in the death of a young mother (who had two children).  Complex causation evidence is being obtained in order to further the civil Fatal Accident claim.

  Representing the family of the Deceased in a case where the hospital failed to identity and treat gestational diabetes resulting in the mother giving birth to a stillborn infant.  The claim is being pursued through the civil courts at the moment.

  Numerous cases involving serious injuries emanating from the field of sport or adventure sports, particularly those with a heavily contested dispute as to liability and the need for expert involvement (for example, accidents in gyms and those involving rugby, football, skiing, cycling, karate and golf).

  Representing claimants in a number of serious injury claims involving the police and the military.