Steven Coles > Crown Office Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile

Steven Coles

020 7797 8100 coles@crownofficechambers.com

Position

Regularly instructed in a wide range of insurance-related cases, often policy coverage disputes, also defence of third parties’ claims under public liability or professional indemnity policies, and insurers’ subrogated recovery claims (e.g. insurance-related claims arising from fire, flood, other damage to property, damage from defective building works, product liability, professional negligence, other contract claims, and personal injury claims involving insurance issues). Cases include high value claims, and heavy claims in terms of numbers of witnesses, experts, documents, and complexity of legal issues. He has often acted as junior to leading counsel, and on his own, often against leading counsel.

Recent cases include:  advising in claims for £2 Million arising out of bridge collapse in civil engineering works (2020);  acting for claimants and insurers in product liability claim for £2 Million from defective adhesive manufactured and supplied to numerous contractors (2020);  advising insurers on multi-Million claim and issues arising out of the death of a high-profile musician abroad (2019); acting for insurers in relation to a claim for £600,000 loss and damage to retail premises below by foul water leaking from pipework to flats above (2019); advising insurers on policy cover in relation to £800,000 fatal accident claim (2019); advising insurers on a £650,000 fire claim caused by hot works and fire spreading to adjoining house (2019); advising insurers on extent of policy cover under a personal accident policy for catastrophic injuries suffered in an accident on holiday abroad (2018); advising on policy indemnity under public liability policy for building collapse where one person killed and others injured (2018); advising insurers in relation to claim for several £ Millions for fire damage to a block of flats (2017); advising on policy cover in respect of £1.6 Million claim against contractors arising from damage to a large inflatable public exhibition dome damaged beyond repair (2017);  advising on policy coverage in relation to a £700,000 claim against contractors for deterioration of road surfaces where defective aggregate used (2017);  acting for insurers in £5 Million fire claim by owners of warehouse destroyed by fire (2015); acting for insurers in £1 Million personal injury and product liability claim by paraplegic claimant against manufacturers, suppliers and health authorities of a defective wheelchair which collapsed;  acting for suppliers in a claim for £1.5 Million against manufacturers and suppliers of defective solder used in manufacture of electronic printed circuit boards (2014); advising on policy cover issues in £375,000 claim under a household policy covering unsatisfied judgments (2020); advising in relation to landlord’s claims for fire damage where fire deliberately caused by tenant (2020) and acting for insurers at trial in the similar cases Middleton v MMA (2014) and Lloyd Evans v Zurich (2010) which decided issues of policy cover for fire and exclusions for deliberate damage; acting for insurers in £5 Million claim under a property policy for destruction of a factory by fire (2012).

Career

Called 1983; Middle Temple; lecturing in English legal terminology at Comparative Law Institute, University of Paris 2, 1983-84.

Languages

French (also some German and some Spanish).

Education

King Edward VII School; St John’s College, Cambridge (1982 BA 1st).

Leisure

Chess, music.