
Byrom Street Chambers is praised as ‘a fantastic set with a range of expertise in clinical negligence cases’. It is home to head of chambers Winston Hunter KC, and he is especially skilled in handling clinical negligence cases with complex issues of medical causation, as well as birth-related claims. Christopher Melton KC has appeared before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, and Darryl Allen KC is another key name; he successfully represented the claimant in Astley v Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in which the negligent failure to accurately monitor the claimant’s heart rate led to severe brain damage. Rhiannon Jones KC has a particular interest in tortious personal injuries that are subsequently treated negligently and thus lead to clinical negligence claims, while Simon Kilvington KC has substantial expertise in birth injury and cerebral palsy claims. Mary Ruck KC is well-equipped to handle claims that involve psychiatrically-injured and vulnerable claimants. David Heaton KC has now retired from practice.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
- Profile
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Steve Price, Matt Tudor, Megan Cook, and Lucy Bardsley are recommended for their excellent and reliable service.'
- 'All of the clerks are great to deal with, and this can be the most senior to the most junior. Steve Price leads the team in conjunction with Matt Tudor. The clerks cannot be praised enough. They are just awesome in all they do, without question.'
- 'All very good. Steve Price heads up an excellent team. Matt Tudor is an impressive deputy and all the team are keen and helpful. Megan Cook is good too.'
- 'A fantastic set with a range of expertise in clinical negligence cases with good facilities and helpful clerking staff. This is supplemented with a regular educational symposium and other online educational events.'
Lawyers
Leading silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.


Sally Hatfield KC
Sally is excellent. She is always thoroughly prepared and her attention to detail is first class, she has excellent client care skills, and she is very responsive.'

Winston Hunter KC
‘Winston is a powerful advocate and brilliant with clients. He is a force to be reckoned with.'

Rhiannon Jones KC
‘Rhiannon has excellent client care skills, she is sympathetic but direct, and she can manage expectations well. Her negotiation skills are supreme and she is very skilful with spine and brain cases.'

Christopher Melton KC
‘Christopher is one of the most experienced silks conducting complex, high-value clinical negligence cases. He is extremely experienced, reliable, and calm under pressure, and he has a wonderful manner with clients, always putting them at ease and showing great empathy.'

James Rowley KC
James is simply a master of clinical negligence litigation. He is very approachable and always has time to discuss cases, he is passionate about his work, and he fights very hard for his clients.'

Lauren Sutherland KC
‘Lauren is very approachable and is good with clients. As you would expect of a KC, she is very knowledgeable in her field of law, however, it is her warm and approachable manner which makes you want to instruct her in clinical negligence claims.'
2023 Silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.
Leading juniors
Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.

Darrel Crilley

Stephen McNamara
Stephen is very knowledgeable and meticulous when reviewing records and expert evidence. He is very impressive in conference with experts, testing their evidence and ensuring all parts of the case have been carefully considered.'

Jason Wells
‘Jason is intelligent, thoughtful, and has great attention to detail. These are all qualities that are required in complex clinical negligence cases which he handles with top-class skill and expertise.'