Bolt Burdon Kemp LLP

boltburdonkemp.co.uk

Cheryl Abrahams

Cheryl is a partner in the child brain injury team at Bolt Burdon Kemp. Having spent many years representing claimants with a range of life-changing injuries, Cheryl now acts exclusively for children who have suffered brain injuries in accidents. Cheryl is widely recognised as a specialist in personal injury law. Cheryl writes articles and gives training about personal injury law. She is committed to ensuring that her clients are supported and receive the best possible service. Cheryl fights for early and regular interim payments and rehabilitation. Cheryl is extremely passionate about her work on behalf of children with acquired brain injury. The Child Brain Injury Trust invited her to be a Special Ambassador to the charity in 2017 in recognition of her commitment and support.

Ahmed Al-Nahhas

Ahmed is Head of the Military Claims Team and a Partner and Solicitor-Advocate. SAhmed manages high value personal injury and clinical negligence claims, often involving serious accidents suffered by service personnel during training or through failures to treat and rehabilitate. He ensures that all his clients are seen at an early stage by the right medical experts, so that their injuries can be fully investigated, an assessment made of their future needs and a strategy agreed for the successful progression of their claims. As an experienced Solicitor-Advocate, Ahmed often appears in the High Court to represent his clients. He has led our work defending the rights of service personnel in the workplace against poor conditions, bullying, discrimination and harassment. He has an in depth understanding of service complaint procedures and will advise clients all the way through to appeal stages and beyond. He is passionate about protecting the rights of women and minorities in the armed forces. A keen negotiator, Ahmed achieves the best possible outcome for his clients, whether that means a valuable pre-action settlement or a fight for compensation at court. He has provided training to experts and solicitors about the nature of military claims, case management, strategy and negotiation. Ahmed has led ground-breaking litigation in his field, including: Having conduct of the first ever settlement in England and Wales relating to injuries caused by the wrongful prescription of Lariam (mefloquine), the anti-malarial drug. Billett v MoD– a case involving Non-Freezing Cold Injury (NFCI), which explored the principles of how to assess damages for disabled Claimants and which continues to be a leading case. Broni, Woof and Barbour v MoD – a case which successfully argued that service personnel should not be treated in law as ‘employees’ for the purposes of assessing legal costs. Ahmed is an active member of Forces Law, a national network of lawyers who specialise in advising service personnel about their legal rights. He has authored “A Practical Guide to Military Claims”, the first legal guide for practitioners which deals exclusively with this specialist field. As a legal and subject matter expert, Ahmed has been invited to give evidence before Parliament and provides regular contributions to stories in the national press on the welfare of service personnel. He supports a number of military charities to help raise awareness about these issues. In March 2021, Ahmed gave evidence to the Defence Select Committee which looked at the experiences faced by women in the military and female veterans.

Alex Dabek

Alex is a Senior Associate in the Spinal Injury team at Bolt Burdon Kemp. She started her career at Bolt Burdon Kemp in 2007. Alex specialises in complex claims involving spinal cord injuries sustained as a result of clinical negligence. She also acts for people who have sustained a spinal cord injury as a result of accidents. Alex has represented many vulnerable clients, including those who lack mental capacity and children. Alex works very closely with Horatio’s Garden, a national charity creating and nurturing beautiful gardens in NHS spinal injury centres to support everyone affected by spinal injury. Alex also supports and works closely with the Spinal Injuries Association, whose services and support are invaluable to people who have sustained spinal injuries. Alex is a trustee of Diverse City, a charity whose ambition is to break barriers, to transform artistic performance and to place diverse groups at the centre of the industry.

Rhiannon Daniel

Rhiannon is a Partner in the Spinal Injury team, recognised for her expertise in complex spinal cord injury cases. She represents clients who have suffered life-changing injuries through personal injury claims—including road traffic collisions, workplace accidents, and occupiers’ liability matters—as well as clinical negligence claims involving both NHS and private healthcare providers. Rhiannon also has experience of dealing with international personal injury claims. Rhiannon has a particular specialism in cases where personal injury and clinical negligence intersect, such as when negligent medical treatment exacerbates an injury sustained in an accident. Her practice spans all age groups, including individuals who lack capacity and those repatriated following serious injury. In addition to her expertise in clinical negligence and personal injury law, Rhiannon is a Level 1 IPSEA-qualified special educational needs advisor. This allows her to work closely with families and schools to ensure her child clients’ complex needs are met—giving them the best chance to thrive after injury.

Sam Hayman

Sam is a Partner and Head of Costs at Bolt Burdon Kemp, having previously held senior legal and management positions in the largest Costs Solicitor practices in the UK. He has attained expert experience of all aspects of post-CPR issues from the outset of proceedings to recovery of legal costs. By virtue of his varied legal training Samuel is able to approach the fundamentals of costs from a different perspective to traditional Costs Lawyers. Samuel has vast knowledge in a wide range of legal costs issues, including international arbitration costs, multi-jurisdictional litigation and more routine England and Wales based costs claims. He has experience of all number of complex litigation and non-contentious costs issues both from paying and receiving party perspective in addition to solicitor and own client. His experience includes Commercial and Personal Injury litigation costs within the following contexts; banking, defamation, fraud, intellectual property, anti-competition, disaster litigation and international contract, abuse, clinical negligence, professional negligence and serious personal injury litigation. Samuel regularly appears as an advocate in the RCJ High Court, SCCO and County Courts. He is well versed on the technical side of costs and contract law to include advices and drafting on retainers, costs issues, creative funding and strategy.

Claudia Hillemand

Claudia is a Partner in the Child Brain Injury team. She acts exclusively for children who have sustained a brain injury as a result of medical errors or accidents. She has experience of severe and complex claims involving children with cerebral palsy who have sustained brain injuries at birth, as well as children who have suffered from conditions including stroke, meningitis, encephalitis and cerebral abscesses. Claudia is passionate about securing compensation for children who have suffered injury as a result of negligence. She has a particular interest in cases relating to birth injury. In addition to her expertise in cases involving negligence, Claudia is an IPSEA-qualified special educational needs advisor and represents children and young people with Special Educational Needs arising from or connected to brain injuries.

Joshua Hughes

Josh is a Partner and Head of the Complex Injury team at Bolt Burdon Kemp. Since qualification in 2012, Josh has specialised in representing people with serious injuries. Working on behalf of both adults and children, he has developed considerable expertise in complex and/or high value personal injury and medical negligence claims. Josh has a particular interest in acting for clients who have sustained life-changing orthopaedic injuries including amputations as well as claims involving fatalities. In addition, Josh is experienced in conducting matters involving missed and delayed medical diagnoses, negligent surgery and lack of informed consent. Josh is an accredited Senior Litigator with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers. He is regularly asked to appear on national radio and television covering stories relevant to his role.

Rhicha Kapila

Rhicha is the Chief Operations Officer and a partner at Bolt Burdon Kemp. Prior to this, she was head of the military claims team. In her role as Chief Operations Officer of the firm, Rhicha is responsible for: designing and implementing the firm’s infrastructure and business operations, establishing policies that promote BBKs values and overseeing the firm’s operations whilst co-ordinating the practice management team.

Caroline Klage

Caroline is a specialist in cases involving child brain injury and heads up the firm’s child brain injury department. She has been instrumental in successfully concluding a number of high value complex cases. Caroline relishes a challenge and has won a number of cases rejected by other firms on the grounds that they had poor prospects of success. Caroline champions a pro-active and practical approach. This ensures that cases are progressed swiftly and without delay with clients receiving the maximum amount of compensation possible and where appropriate, interim payments of compensation to help to fund their complex care, treatment, therapy and equipment needs as well as to alleviate financial hardship. Caroline is an IPSEA qualified SEN (Special Educational Needs) advisor. Caroline frequently comments in the national press and in social media on healthcare issues. She is also a contributor to the Journal of Personal Injury Law.

David McClenaghan

David joined Bolt Burdon Kemp in 2010. He became partner in 2015 and is head of the firm's Abuse team. He specialises in bringing compensation claims on behlaf of survivors of sexual abuse. He has successfully brought claims on behlf of clients who have suffered abuse at the hands of Scout leaders, Boys’ Brigade Captains, clergymen (Roman Catholic Church, Church of England, Church in Wales, Evangelical Church), youth club leaders, teachers, sports coaches, foster carers, care home staff and family members. David is a solicitor advocate and regularly appears in the High Court and CICA Tribunal on behalf of his clients. He frequently appears in the national broadcast and print media providing expert commentary on child abuse law and issues. Reported cases include: GLB v TH [2012] ALL ER D 329, as advocate, David secured his client one of the highest-ever awards of general damaged in a child abuse compensation claim; CXX v DXX [2012] ALL ER (D) 22, clarified the law in respect of whether or not a defendant who has been convicted of an offence is permitted to deny that offence in a subsequent civil claim; FZO v Haringey [2019] EWHC 1286 (QB) representing a child abuse survivor who was awarded a record-breaking £1.1 million in damages.

Luke Nicholls

Luke is the Finance Partner in the Financial Operations team at Bolt Burdon Kemp. He joined Bolt Burdon Kemp in July 1999 as a costs draftsman. By 2003 he was managing the firm's Costs team, dedicated to maximising costs recovery for BBK clients. In April 2009 Luke was extremely proud to become the first Non-Lawyer Partner of the firm, later qualifying as a Costs Lawyer in January 2011. Whilst Luke continues to be very passionate about costs law and maximising financial performance across BBK, his role has evolved to encompass all financial aspects of the firm.

Victoria Oliver

Victoria is a Partner and Head of the Spinal Injury Team. Victoria specialises in acting for adults and children who have suffered spinal injuries either as a result of personal injury (including road traffic accidents, accidents at work, occupier’s liability claims and fatal accidents) or medical negligence involving both NHS and private clinicians. Victoria has experience in representing clients who have sustained paraplegic injuries and also represented clients who have higher level tetraplegic injuries. Victoria is mindful of the secondary complications suffered by those who are spinally injured such as neuropathic pain, pressure ulcers and bowel and bladder complications. Victoria also has an interest in SCI women’s health. Victoria is passionate about ensuring that her clients receive compensation that properly compensates them for their losses and enjoys the challenge of calculating and proving unusual losses. Wherever possible Victoria aims to obtain early interim payments and rehabilitation for her clients and is experienced in assisting clients with identifying suitable properties for adaption to their individual needs, liaising with case managers and setting up care regimes and therapeutic support. Victoria’s cases of note include: Acting on behalf of a Claimant who sustained a spinal cord injury following a road traffic accident. Victoria was able to work collaboratively with the insurers and obtain significant interim payments in excess of £500,000. Overall settlement was agreed at £10 million to include provision for future loss of earnings, future care and accommodation and future private medical therapy costs. Acting on behalf of a Claimant who sustained a spinal cord injury following a road traffic accident where liability was denied and arguments of contributory negligence raised including failure to wear a seatbelt and prior knowledge that the driver had been drinking. Settlement was achieved at £3 million. Acting on behalf of a Claimant who sustained a spinal cord injury and below the knee amputation following a fall at work. Settlement was achieved at £4.5 million. Achieving a lump sum settlement in excess of £3 million for a below the knee amputation as a result of a motorcycle accident. Liability was disputed. The settlement, which was achieved at a JSM, included provision for loss of earnings (including a significant loss of chance claim), prosthetics and future care and accommodation. Acting on behalf of a Claimant in a liability disputed claim involving a fall from height. The Claimant sustained a brain injury in addition to multiple orthopaedic (including spinal) injuries. Following a settlement meeting the case settled for a six figure sum. Acting on behalf of a Claimant injured in a road traffic accident where liability was heavily disputed and subsequently settled at trial [Bennett –v- Southwell [2013] EWHC 2382 (QB)]. Victoria is an avid supporter of several spinal injury charities; she has run the London marathon in support of the Spinal Injuries Association and volunteers with Horatio’s Garden, regularly attending the garden at the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Victoria is also a fan of wheelchair rugby and supports the Stoke Mandeville Maulers.

Jack Ridgway

Jack is a Partner in the Costs team at Bolt Burdon Kemp. Prior to joining in 2015, Jack gained experience at two leading national costs firms, acting for both receiving and paying parties. As a Costs Lawyer, he regularly undertakes advocacy in the High Court of Justice and County Courts; at Costs and Case Management Conferences (CCMC), Applications, Oral Reviews of provisional assessment and Detailed Assessments. He also has experience before the High Court on permission to appeal. Jack was a Council member and then Chairman of the Association of Costs Lawyers; and a Director and Board Member of the company responsible for training all Costs Lawyers nationally.

Jonathan Wheeler

Jonathan was formerly head of both the injury and abuse teams at Bolt Burdon Kemp and has been a partner with the firm since 2003. In 2006 Jonathan was named one of the ‘Hot 100’ lawyers of the year by The Lawyer magazine, recognising his campaigning work for survivors of child abuse, work which continues today. Jonathan went on to represent two claimants in the landmark House of Lords case A v Hoare & others (2008) changing the law to extend the time limits for anyone wishing to bring a child abuse claim. He now has an over-arching role developing and approving the strategy for all personal injury cases handled by the firm. In addition to his work at BBK, Jonathan is a Fellow and former President (2015-16) of the influential lobbying organisation, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers. He was awarded honorary life membership when he stepped down from the national executive in 2017. He trains other lawyers, both in-house and externally, and is regularly asked to provide comment on topical issues for the trade press and national media. In 2014/15 he accepted a consultancy role with the BBC, advising on story-lines for a well-known TV soap.