Jonathan Gaydon > Chambers of David Berkley KC > London, England > Barrister Profile

Jonathan Gaydon

Work Department

Personal Injury; Clinical Negligence

Position

Jonathan specialises in clinical negligence, personal injury, inquests, public law and costs. He is frequently instructed in complex and high value litigation.

Jonathan accepts instructions on behalf of both claimants and defendants in the High Court and County Court. He is an experienced civil advocate who appears daily in trials, applications, CCMCs, approval and disposal hearings.

From 2015 to 2018, Jonathan acted as JJ for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the successful defence of the largest group action ever brought against the UK Government (Kimathi and others v Foreign and Commonwealth Office). Jonathan’s work with the team included drafting pleadings, assisting in the High Court during trial and conducting research.

Jonathan has considerable expertise acting for defendants in cases involving issues of fraud/fundamental dishonesty. He regularly provides advice, conducts conferences, settles pleadings and attends trials for defendant insurers.

Jonathan takes pride in offering practical advice to clients and delivering highly effective advocacy in Court. Outside of his practice, Jonathan enjoys distance running and playing guitar.

PERSONAL INJURY

Jonathan regularly advises and acts in personal injury proceedings for both claimants and defendants. He offers expertise in relation to employer’s liability, occupier’s liability, RTAs, fatal accidents, motor insurance fraud and product liability claims. He has experience of high value PI litigation involving complex issues of liability, causation and damage.

Recent instructions include:

• Kenyan Emergency Group Litigation (KEGL): From 2015 to 2018, Jonathan was instructed as JJ (Junior Junior) for the UK Government in a group action brought by 40,000 claimants arising from alleged mistreatment during the Kenyan Emergency in the 1950s. KEGL was one of the longest-running trials in English legal history. The litigation was successfully defended.
• Advising in a claim involving a serious left humerus fracture sustained in an accident at work resulting in permanent restriction of shoulder movement, ongoing symptoms and future expenses.
• Advising in a claim involving a cyclist who suffered multiple fractures to his left foot, ankle and right shoulder when he was struck by a bus.

Inquests

Jonathan provides representation to bereaved families and other interested parties at inquests. He is able to provide ongoing advice and advocacy in any civil claim arising from fatalities. Jonathan has experience of inquests involving complex medical issues and the questioning of experts.

Jonathan’s experience also includes:

• Hospital deaths
• Road traffic deaths
• Emergency services attendance
• Suicides
• Article 2 inquests

Recent inquests include:

• Re S: Representing the family in an inquest dealing with the tragic death of a young woman in her twenties who suffered a fatal stroke secondary to acute pyogenic meningitis which was not diagnosed upon her initial attendance at hospital.
• Re A: An inquest involving two deaths following a high-speed road traffic accident with a motorcyclist.
• Representing the family in an inquest touching the tragic death of a man killed in the course of a motor sport event (ongoing).

Jonathan is always conscious of the sensitivity and care required when representing families who are coping with the loss of a loved one and the importance of finding answers to the crucial questions which often remain following a death.

CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE

Jonathan is able to offer advice and representation in cases arising from:

• Unnecessary or inappropriate treatment
• Surgical negligence
• Pharmaceutical negligence
• Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis
• Failure to obtain informed consent
• Dental negligence
• Cosmetic negligence

In cases involving a fatality, Jonathan is experienced in providing representation at inquests on behalf of families or interested parties.

Recent instructions include:

• P v An NHS Trust: Drafting pleadings, conducting conference and providing advice to the claimant in a case involving delayed diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis. The claim was successfully settled in the sum of £500,000.
• A v An NHS Trust: Drafting pleadings, conducting conference and providing advice to the claimant in a case involving the delayed diagnosis of a developing cauda equina syndrome.
• F v An NHS Trust: Drafting pleadings for the claimant in a successful claim involving a failure by the defendant to remove retained products of conception in the course of a birth.

Career

Year of call 2013

Memberships

• Personal Injuries Bar Association

Education

• LLB, King’s College London (First Class Honours)
• MSc, New College, University of Oxford (Dissertation Distinction)
• BPTC, The City Law School
• Law School Prize in Jurisprudence and Legal Theory (2010)
• King’s Scholarship (2010)
• Winner, Inter-Inns of Court Debating Competition (2013)
• President of Debating at the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple (2013)
• President of External Mooting at the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple (2012)
• President of King’s College Debating Society (2009)

Leisure

Outside of his practice, Jonathan enjoys distance running and playing guitar.