Northern Circuit
Byrom Street Chambers ‘has unparalleled strength in depth in claims involving injuries of the highest magnitude’. The personal injury group includes the ‘superb advocate’ Christopher Melton KC, who is head of chambers and predominantly acts for claimants in high-value fatal and catastrophic injury claims. The ‘calm and authoritative’ Winston Hunter KC is ‘technically excellent in all areas of personal injury litigation, especially at the catastrophic injury level’. Simon Kilvington KC has an excellent reputation among instructing solicitors for being ‘the top silk in the country for claimant industrial disease work’. Rhiannon Jones KC continues to handle complex brain and spinal injury claims for defendants and claimants, while Peter Burns KC is active in cases involving catastrophic injuries and amputation claims. At the junior end of chambers, Michael Lemmy has been active in claims arising from accidents at work and road traffic accidents, and Darrel Crilley is experienced in handling claims involving polytrauma, functional neurological disorders and amputations.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Mentions
Profile
Work Department
Personal injury, clinical negligence.
Position
Christopher Melton KC is a standout silk and the head of chambers who excels at representing claimants in high-value catastrophic injury and fatal accident cases, particularly those involving minors. He does a significant amount of appellate advocacy and has appeared in the Supreme Court numerous times. He is also praised for his personal commitment to providing training for up and coming barristers.
His Supreme Court cases are:
Armes v Nottinghamshire CC where the Appellant is seeking to establish that a LA owes a non-delegable duty or is vicariously liable in respect of sexual abuse perpetrated by a foster parent.
Woodland v Essex CC where the Claimant successfully established that a LA owed a non-delegable duty to a child brain damaged by the negligence of a non-employee swimming teacher.
Dunhill v Burgin where the Claimant successfully established that the settlement of a claim was invalid where the Claimant lacked litigation capacity, even where the Defendant had no knowledge of her incapacity.
Sienkiewiz v Greif where the Claimant successfully established liability on the basis that her mother’s mesothelioma was caused by negligence, even though the risk of contracting the disease was only slightly increased by the relevant exposure.
His Court of Appeal cases include:
Sabir v Osei-Kwabena, where the Claimant successfully resisted the Defendant’s appeal against a 25% contributory negligence finding against a pedestrian;
McCracken v Bell, where a brain injured pillion passenger on off road trials bike being unlawfully ridden on cycle path successfully resisted an appeal by the third party driver;
Waterhouse v Welsh, where the CA rejected a surgeon’s appeal against findings of negligence
Nunnerley v Warrington HA, where the CA refused the Defendant’s application for permission to appeal in a twin wrongful birth case, holding that damages were recoverable beyond the child’s age of 21.
Career
Called 1982, Gray’s Inn; KC 2001; Recorder 2005; Governor of the ICCA responsible for International Advocacy Training ; Former Head of Advocacy Training for the Northern Circuit
Languages
French
Memberships
PNBA
PIBA
Northern Circuit Medical Law Association
Education
Manchester Grammar School; Bristol University.
Content supplied by Byrom Street Chambers
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Matt Tudor is highly recommended, and chambers is in safe hands under his leadership.'
- 'Under the leadership of Matt Tudor, the service at Byrom Street is never short of excellent.'
- 'Clerks are always helpful and responsive. Matt Tudor is excellent.'
- 'Outstanding service and responsiveness from the clerks.'
- 'Superb strength in depth of barristers and clerking.'
- 'Strongest set of silks in the UK in catastrophic injury work.'
- 'An excellent set.'
- 'One of the strongest sets in the north west.'