John-Paul Swoboda KC

John-Paul specialises in Asbestos Litigation, Sports, International litigation, Serious injury, Aviation, Clinical Negligence, Professional Negligence and Inquests. He undertakes high value work appearing in the High Court and Appellate Courts. He enjoys working as part of a team. He won the Legal 500 Personal Injury Junior of the Year Award in 2023. John-Paul was elected joint Deputy Head of Chambers in July 2024. He took silk in 2025.

In relation to asbestos claims, he is instructed by most, if not all, well-regarded claimant firms with an established asbestos team. He is ranked in Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500. Recent reported cases include:

• Johnstone v Fawcett’s Garage (Newbury) Ltd [2023] EWHC 3010 (KB) (appeal listed in February 2025)
• Keegan v Independent Insurance Co Ltd [2022] EWHC 1992 (QB);
• Brooks v Zurich Insurance Plc [2022] EWHC 1170 (QB);
• Witham v Steve Hill Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 1312 (led by Steven Snowden KC);
• Gregory v H J Haynes Ltd [2020] EWHC 911 (Ch);
• Helm v Kenyon & Sons Ltd v Somewatch Ltd [2019] EWHC 1108 (QB);
• Cary v Vauxhall Motors Ltd [2019] EWHC 238 (QB);
• Mark v Universal Coatings and Services Ltd v Barrier Ltd [2018] EWHC 3206 (QB);
• Stacey v Triplex Safety Glass Company Ltd [2017] EWHC 1945 (QB).

His private international law expertise spans jurisdiction (pre and post-Brexit), applicable law (pre and post-Brexit), forum non conveniens cases and service out of the jurisdiction in both injury and non-injury commercial work. John-Paul also has expertise in Aviation, having worked on cases arising from air disasters. He regularly appears in Package Holidays claims, Admiralty matters, Athens and Montreal Convention cases and clinical negligence cases with a foreign element. As a result of his Spanish language skills, John-Paul is often instructed in Spanish cases and has appeared as an expert in English law in the Spanish Courts. Recent reported cases include: Chouza v Martins & Ors [2021] EWHC 1669 (QB) (Spanish law); Haggerty-Garton v ICI [2021] EWHC 2924 (QB) (Scots law); Maddison v TUI [2023] EWHC (to be heard by the Court of Appeal). John-Paul is ranked in the Legal 500 for Travel Law including Jurisdictional issues.

John-Paul’s clinical negligence work is high value work often relating to birth injury, brain injury, spinal injury, amputation, other catastrophic outcomes and fatalities. He receives instructions from most ranked firms. He is ranked in the directories for his clinical negligence work. He enjoys the medical and scientific aspects of such litigation and works closely with his instructing solicitors and experts.

John-Paul won the Legal 500 Personal Injury Junior of the Year award in 2023 He undertakes all personal injury work including EL, PL and RTA cases. Reported cases include Irani v Duchon [2019] EWCA Civ 1846.

John-Paul has expertise and experience in professional negligence claims acting for claimants and defendants. He is often instructed in relation to claims relating to solicitors and barristers and also has experience of many other professions. He successfully represented the Claimant in the Court of Appeal in Witcomb v Keith Park Solicitors [2023] PNLR 20.

He practices Sports Law where he is able to bring his extensive Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence knowledge to bear on such matters. However, his practice is not restricted to injury related work; he accepts non-injury Sports work of a contractual or regulatory nature. He has received instructions relating to those in the English Premier League, for professional jockeys and for other professional sports people.

John-Paul acts for bereaved families, and occasionally acts for other interested parties, at Inquests. John-Paul has particular interest and expertise in Article 2 ECHR enhanced Inquests. He has acted in high profile Inquests such as the Inquest touching the death of Toni Speck (a death in police custody); the Inquest touching the death of Graham Coker (a death following oesophageal cancer surgery where their department was subsequently shut down); the Inquest touching the death of Jodie White-Charles where a young mother died of sickle cell complications as a result of Trust failures.

Called 2006. Silk 2025

• Elected member of the Bar Council
• Member of the Law Reform Committee
• Personal Injuries Bar Association (PIBA)
• Professional Negligence Bar Association (PNBA)
• Association v Medical Accidents (AvMA)
• Pan European Organisation of Personal Injury Lawyers (PEOPIL)
• London Common Law and Commercial Bar Association (LCLCBA)

BVC College of Law; University of Sheffield (LLB Hons 2004).