Hudgell Solicitors

Clinical Negligence

Senior Associate Solicitor

Matthew is a medical negligence solicitor who qualified in 2013. He worked in the clinical negligence departments at high-profile firms in London, Hampshire and Yorkshire, before joining Hudgells in 2022.

Matthew’s work focuses on clients who have suffered severe and serious injuries throughout all areas of clinical negligence, leaving them with complex needs. He has particular interest in cases involving acquired brain injuries due to medical accidents, delays in diagnosis of cancer, and surgical errors.

Matthew understands the impact of severe injury and the potential benefits of early intervention, which allow the injured person the best chance at recovery and rehabilitation. As a result, he focuses on effective and detailed investigation of the issues in the claim with the aim of obtaining, where possible, early funding for support, assistance and therapies required by his clients.

Matthew is aware that his clients and their families often want accountability and answers as to what went wrong, in addition to the compensation they deserve. He recognises that both aims are equally important to his clients, as these answers will often explain not only what happened to them but also the measures put in place to stop other people suffering in the same way.

Matthew's cases

Matthew obtained damages of more than £2million for a client in his 50s who suffered dislocation of both his shoulders during a seizure. These dislocations were not identified at the time, or for approximately three months’ after they occurred.

As a result, his client’s treatment was extremely complicated, requiring numerous operations on both shoulders to replace the joints with prostheses.

His outcome was extremely poor; he was unable to continue working in any capacity, complete housework or jobs around his home, drive or use public transport, or to socialise in the way he had previously. He was reliant on his wife to help maintain his personal hygiene, including bathing, dressing and using the bathroom. The settlement included compensation for his loss of earnings and allowed a care package to be set up that restored his independence and reduced his reliance on his wife.

He also represents a client who, at the age of 19, suffered a brain injury along with respiratory and cardiac arrest due to the inappropriate management of his airway before and after an operation.

The client requires immediate rehabilitation including input from various specialists, including Neuropsychologists, Physiotherapists, care workers and Occupational Therapists, to maximise his chances of recovery. Matthew secured an interim payment from the NHS Trust involved in his care that will pay for this rehabilitation in full while the claim is ongoing.

He also secured damages of £200,000 for a client who suffered a cardiac arrest but was not accepted into his local hospital for immediate treatment. Instead, his client had to be transferred to a hospital some distance away and the delay in his treatment meant it was not as effective. He developed severe heart failure that has limited his independence and ability to live his life the way that he wished.

In a case where a GP wrongly recorded a patient’s blood tests as showing ‘no abnormality’, when in fact they indicated he was suffering from a serious kidney condition, resulted in him securing £100,00 damages for his client. His client had to wait seven years before he was correctly diagnosed, by which time he was told he would need a transplant.

Member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, with accredited status as a Senior Litigator.