Tim Hodgetts leads an outstanding team at Bevan Brittan LLP that ‘really knows its stuff’. It has an excellent relationship with leading Acute NHS Trusts as well as acting for a growing number of insurers and healthcare providers. In addition, it works closely with NHS Resolution on the management of cases involving birth injuries where the potential damages liability often exceeds £18m. Adrian Dagnall is an NHS Resolution nominated partner and is best known for his work on high-profile indexation, periodical payment and high-value cases. At associate level, Elena Goodfellow, handles many complex claims.
Clinical negligence: defendant in West Midlands
Bevan Brittan LLP
Practice head(s):
Tim Hodgetts
Other key lawyers:
Adrian Dagnall; Elena Goodfellow
Testimonials
‘A fantastic team who always work hard to ensure that everything is well-prepared’.
‘Strong knowledge of the sector (clinical negligence and healthcare) plus long experience of working for NHS Trusts. Strong communication skills’.
‘Tim Hodgetts – a very experienced partner and capable tactician, who builds excellent collaborative working relationships with his clients as well as with counsel and the opposition’.
‘Elena Goodfellow (associate) – a confident and capable litigator who manages the large volume of big quantum cases with exceptional skill and judgment. A real team player and a pleasure to work for as counsel’.
‘I find the team’s knowledge to be particularly impressive. Where counsel’s input is sought the case is well thought out. Compared to other firms, the team are well equipped to deal with the constraints of billing that are unique to NHS Resolution work. Tim Hodgetts -I rate him highly. He is detail orientated and strategic in his approach to cases’.
‘The BB team is professional and astute and delivers a good service to its clients’.
‘I would single out Adrian Dagnall andTim Hodgetts as calm, competent and focused practitioners’.
‘They are market leaders for good reason. They have recruited smart, client friendly lawyers who provide a excellent legal advice. Adrian Dagnall is outstanding. He has a fabulous clinical negligence team‘.
Key clients
NHS Resolution
MedPro
The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Guys & St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust
C.N.A Hardy
St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Homerton NHS Foundation Trust
Taunton & Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
The Whittington Health NHS Trust
Browne Jacobson LLP
The ‘practical, proactive and sensible’ team at Browne Jacobson LLP is praised for its ‘collaborative approach‘. It has one of the largest national defendant clinical defendant practices in the UK as well as an excellent social care practice. It fields many first-rate practitioners such as Jonathan Fuggle who is recognised for his expertise in spinal surgery claims. Sarah Manning specialises in defending substantial clinical negligence claims. Sian Brown leads the specialist obstetric division, while Sarah White deftly handles a variety of catastrophic injury claims. Among the other key names to note are ‘master tactician‘ William Reynolds who acts on behalf of NHS Resolution, NHS Trusts, and other private insurers and commercial organisations, Emma Rees (legal director); Hannah Wallace and Louise Jeffers (who are both senior associates).
Practice head(s):
Lorna Hardman; Jonathan Fuggle; Sarah Manning; Sian Brown; Sarah White
Other key lawyers:
Emma Rees; Hannah Wallace; Louise Jeffers; William Reynolds
Testimonials
‘Louise Jeffers is approachable and easy to work with. She made some very commercially sensible proposals which meant that we were able to resolve our matter swiftly and cost effectively, benefiting both of our clients.’
‘Lorna Hardman has a wealth of experience and can always be relied upon.’
‘Jonathan Fuggle and Hannah Wallace have worked extensively for NHS clients on groundbreaking cases; this demonstrates the quality of work they are conducting in this field and the trust their clients place in them.’
‘Sarah White is a towering figure in clinical negligence work, respected by peers and opponents alike. Sian Brown is a charming and capable lawyer whose amiable manner does not prevent her being steely when the case requires it. She achieves excellent results in often intractable cases for her clients by her determination and ingenuity.’
‘Jonathan Fuggle is always very pragmatic in his approach, very sensible.’
‘Lorna Hardman is pragmatic and sensible, taking a common-sense approach to resolving disputes.’
‘Will Reynolds is a master tactician.’
‘Jonathan Fuggle is very intelligent, but also has a strong practical commercial edge. Hannah Wallace is very user friendly, hard working and had very good judgement.’
Key clients
Medical Protection Society (National)
NHS Resolution (National)
Dental Protection Limited (National)
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (Midlands)
Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust
CNA Hardy
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals (North West)
University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust
Essex Partnership University NHS Trust
University Hospital of Dorset NHS Foundation Trust (South West)
Weightmans LLP
Weightmans LLP has a stellar reputation for its work in this area. The nimble team covers a broad variety of high-value and contentious cases. At the cornerstone of the practice, is defending numerous birth and brain injury cases for various NHS trusts. Its dedicated GP team continues to receive a high number of primary care claim instructions and it also has considerable strength in group claims. Names to note include Deborah Bannister and Tony Yeaman . Jasmine Armstrong has advised on many defendant clinical negligence actions for NHS Resolution. Sarah Hopwood advises national healthcare teams on cases where there is suspected exaggeration or fraud. Principal associate, Christian Lowden joined the team from Kennedys .
Practice head(s):
Deborah Bannister; Jasmine Armstrong; Sarah Hopwood; Tony Yeaman
Other key lawyers:
Christian Lowden
Testimonials
‘The service received from Weightmans is courteous, professional and always on point. The Weightmans team are friendly and approachable and are able to provide broad support across all areas of need, providing support and timely advice to inform important decisions’.
‘Jasmine Armstrong has excellent knowledge and experience. Jasmine is a first point of contact and is invaluable in connecting the client to the right member of the wider team’.
‘Sarah Hopwood is an excellent lawyer who is willing to work with the client to find the right solution, not just offer advice’.
‘They work with us collaboratively’.
‘Very receptive to feedback and understand how we like to do things’.
‘Very focused on client care and understands our needs’.
Key clients
NHS Resolution
Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust
Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS FT
Herefordshire and Worcestershire Combined Legal services NHS Trust
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Newcastle upon Tyne NHS FT
Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Trust
Wye Valley NHS Trust
University Hospitals of Birmingham NHS FT
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS FT
Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHST
Broadspire
Weight to Go Ltd
Baxter Healthcare Ltd
Work highlights
- Advising University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS on a liability trial concerning a blood clot which caused serious injury. The court preferred the defendant’s evidence and dismissed the claim.
- Acting for Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS FT on an obstetric claim which involved various allegations of negligence, where the parties used ENE (early neutral evaluation) to resolve a factual dispute.
- Acting for University Hospitals of Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust in a complex spinal injury claim where liability was admitted swiftly but the route to resolution was highly complex.
Capsticks LLP
The ‘extremely competent’ team at Capsticks LLP is part of a strong national offering. It is ‘always willing to go that extra mile to help us’ say clients. Charlotte Rathbone regularly works on clinical negligence claims on behalf of NHS trusts and GPs on instruction from NHS Resolution. Rathbone frequently handles claims involving the most severe neurological injuries and has a particular interest in obstetric cases. Lucy Erskine specialises in complex neurological injuries and has particular expertise in obstetric and wrongful birth claims. London-based Peter Marquand is also recommended.
Practice head(s):
Charlotte Rathbone; Peter Marquand; Lucy Erskine
Other key lawyers:
Alice Eastwood; Natalie Walter; Ruth Day; Helen Ayers
Testimonials
‘Specifically in the West Midlands the partner I have worked with is Lucy Erskine. She is extremely able’.
‘Absolutely superb team — a real pleasure to work with’.
‘The team at Capsticks are reliably good at what they do. They know the field well and this shows itself in their sensible approach to questions of case strategy.’
‘Alice Eastwood deserves a mention – we had a very interesting case together. It was a challenging case for a number of reasons, but made much easier by Alice’s good sense!’.
‘I was instructed by Natalie Walter. Natalie’s preparation of the case was excellent. She was a good sounding board to discuss strategy, and put the client in the best position possible for the mediation’.
‘Charlotte Rathbone (partner) and Natalie Walter (senior associate). Strong group working on cases at the very highest end of complex healthcare litigation, in terms of both quantum and legal complexity.’
‘Capsticks is one of the leading clin neg practices. Ruth Day is outstanding’.
‘I have worked with a number of individuals at Capsticks and they are always very approachable and really switched on. It is always a pleasure to work with the clinical negligence team. In particular, Lucy Erskine and Helen Ayers stand out’.
Key clients
NHS Resolution
Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust
Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust
North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Northern Lincolnshire & Goole NHS Foundation Trust
North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust
Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust
Work highlights
- Advised NHS Resolution in connection with a claim based on alleged delay in diagnosing / treating cauda equina syndrome. The matter was discontinued by the Claimant following the team’s investigations which revealed that they had been fundamentally dishonest regarding the extent of the injuries.
- Represented NHS Resolution and a Trust at the inquest and in the claim concerning the death of a young mental health service user following a fatal overdose of heroin. The fatal accidents claim was settled within a matter of months after the Letter of Claim was served by the family.
- Represented NHS Resolution and a Trust at the inquest and in the claim concerning a birth injury due to Kiellands rotational forceps delivery. The birth injury resulted in paralysis from the neck downwards and the baby sadly passed away at 4 months of age. Following the inquest, liability was admitted and the Trust attended a mediation in order to resolve the matter for the family as soon as possible.
Kennedys
Christopher Malla heads a strong and ‘active’ practice at Kennedys, which has particular expertise in handling complex multi-million pound birth injury claims. The group was pleased to be recently re-appointed to the NHS Resolution’s Clinical panel as well as continuing to act for many private healthcare providers. It has the expertise to handle a wide range of claims including those of maximum severity. Avinder Sidhu is recommended for her work on birth injuries and neurosurgical complications -she also has extensive experience in mediation. Katie Tonks manages a wide range of claims including numerous high-value neurological injuries.
Practice head(s):
Christopher Malla
Other key lawyers:
Avinder Sidhu; Katie Tonks
Testimonials
‘Kennedys has several offices across the country which enables them to pool expertise and enhance the quality of their advice by sharing knowledge and experience. Kennedys West Midlands benefits from working within the overall Kennedys umbrella: this enables it to provide very specialist advice in healthcare and clinical negligence at a regional level’.
‘The strong team of very specialist lawyers under the leadership of Christopher Malla, continues to “punch above its weight”‘.
‘Avinder Sidhu (partner) is very experienced, sensible and reliable with excellent judgment, enabling her to deliver excellent results for the client. She also deals confidently with very complex liability issues and the highest value catastrophic quantum cases’.
Key clients
NHS Resolution
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Beazley
Allied World
CNA Hardy
MPLC