Fiona Ross > Park Square Barristers > Leeds, England > Barrister Profile

Fiona Ross

0113 2459763

Work Department

Personal Injury, Civil Fraud and Commercial & Chancery

Position

Personal Injury

Fiona Ross’s background is in all areas of civil law, but she now specialises in high value personal injury, disease and commercial work and has extensive experience in all areas of motor insurance fraud.

Fiona is recommended for multi-track personal injury claims and has experience for acting in cases involving life-changing injuries, both on her own and with leading Counsel. She is well known for her strong trial advocacy, particularly her forensic cross-examination style and down to earth approach when communicating the issues to clients and solicitors.

Fiona has a busy, nationwide practice and undertakes the full range of personal injury work, from those of high value involving multiple and severe injuries to low value whiplash injury claims. Her experience includes numerous employer’s liability claims, including the full range of statutory duties. Public liability claims undertaken include highways claims, occupiers’ liability claims and claims against persons in positions of responsibility. She also has considerable experience of drafting schedules and counter-schedules in high value cases. Her multi track work often results in representing parties at joint settlement meetings. She has considerable experience in dealing with liability experts, both in conference and by way of cross examination, and dealing with medical experts both in conference and challenging experts by way of Part 35 questions.

Fiona has experience on behalf of both Claimants and Defendants in cases involving chronic pain, CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome) and fibromyalgia.

She deals with cases of sexual and physical abuse, including historic claims, involving both vicarious liability and alleged systematic and personal breach of duty. Fiona has experience of dealing with unlawful deprivation of liberty cases and claims under the Human Rights Act.

Fiona often represents clients in claims involving psychiatric injury, both “primary” and “secondary” victim cases as well as cases of stress at work. She is experienced in the cross-examination of vulnerable witnesses at trial and with all aspects of the substantive legal issues which may arise, including limitation (including as a preliminary issue) and vicarious liability.

She is also experienced in vicarious liability, including in relation to workplace assaults, on and off “work time” and work premises, claims.

Fiona has also represented both Claimants and Defendants in numerous occupational disease claims, such as cases of NIHL, HAVS, VWF and in cases involving the development of skin conditions such as dermatitis and occupational asthma. She has considerable experience of representing Claimants and Defendants at applications dealing with complex procedural matters and at preliminary hearings dealing with limitation arguments.

Fiona is experienced in inquests on behalf of a range of interested parties, including the family of the deceased, insurers and private clients, examples of recent cases include the death of a vulnerable adult in a care home and a death resulting from an accident at work.

Fiona has a keen interest in a range of travel and foreign claims has led to a developing practice representing both claimants and defendants in claims:

• Under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992.
• Aboard and concerning planes and other aircraft under the Warsaw Convention and Montreal Convention;
• Relating to the cancellation of flights, denied boarding and flight delays under the Denied Boarding Regulation (EC 261/2004);
• Aboard cruise ships and other vessels under the Athens Convention;

Civil Fraud

Fiona has extensive experience in all areas of civil fraud, including employer’s liability and household insurance claims, but particularly in relation to road traffic accidents and travel fraud claims.

Fiona deals with cases on a weekly basis involving bogus passengers, fabricated, staged and induced accidents, low velocity impacts and exaggerated personal injury and damage.

Fiona is instructed on a repeat basis by most of the country’s leading firms specialising in civil insurance fraud and many of the UK’s insurance companies.

She also has experience in dealing with organised fraud rings and has a wide experience of dealing with credit hire claims, usually of a significant value. Fiona advises at the pre-proceedings stage and throughout the course of litigated cases.

Commercial & Chancery
Fiona Ross has a primarily civil-law background and draws upon her previous work experience in the commercial sector.

She has appeared for claimant or defendant in commercial and contractual disputes, and has experience representing breweries, publicans and individuals in cases concerning breach of covenant, user clauses, purchase ties and refusals to renew tenancies.

Fiona has also undertaken work concerning possession actions in respect of private and social housing, acting for local authorities and housing trusts (including mortgage possessions and anti-social behaviour order applications and breaches).

Fiona has experience in property disputes ranging from trusts issues to rights of way, adverse possession, restrictive covenants and trusts. 

Career

Call 2004

Appointments:
Freelance lecturer/examiner on the BPTC (BPP College of Professional Studies, Leeds) since 2005

Accredited to teach advocacy by the IATC since 2005.

Languages

French

Memberships

Personal Injury Bar Association (since 2004)Northern Ballet Parents’ Association

Education

1999
University of Edinburgh, MA (Hons) History (2:1)

2000
University of Cambridge, PG Cert in International Business Practice (First)

2003
The College of Law, PGDip Law (‘very competent’)

2004
Manchester Metropolitan University, BVC (‘very competent’)