Iain is a senior solicitor and team leader, managing a team of lawyers and handling his own cases. He and his team specialise in catastrophic clinical negligence cases and he has recovered tens of millions of pounds in compensation for clients.  

Iain is predominantly instructed in claims exceeding £1million, usually in relation to brain injury, spinal cord injury and amputations. He practices almost exclusively in the High Court and is a solicitor-advocate. Iain has obtained many multi-million-pound settlements, either by way of a lump sum and/or annual payments. He consistently achieves significant settlements on exceptionally complex claims.     

Highlights of recently settled cases  

JH v Dr D – 2021 – £1,625,000.00 for a 61-year-old female who suffered a spinal stroke during back surgery in 2016 when her blood pressure was allowed to remain too low during the operation. Liability was disputed in full in an extremely complex case and the matter settled 2 weeks before a 5-day liability Trial was due to begin. 

SF v Barnsley Hospital – 2021 – £600,000.00 for a 67-year-old female for the hip and sciatic nerve injuries that she sustained following a fall when recovering from a hip replacement procedure in January 2015. She suffered an acetabular fracture, sciatic nerve injury and foot drop. 

BXF v Dartford Hospital – 2020 – £1,075,000.00 for a 16-year-old boy, for the Volkmann’s ischaemic contracture he suffered in the left arm and hand after receiving negligent medical treatment 10 years before the initial instructions were received. He suffered pain in the arm, had limited functional use and a wasted appearance of the hand. 

RL v County Durham NHS – 2020 – £1,000,000.00 for a 27-year-old female who suffered liver cirrhosis following a delay of two years in the identification of a gene mutation and polycythemia vera disorder. She developed Budd-Chari syndrome, her liver was permanently damaged, and her life expectancy was reduced by approximately 10 years. 

DB v WSH NHS – 2019 – £1,000,000.00 for a 49-year-old male, requiring an above knee amputation to the right leg after presenting at hospital with acute limb ischaemia in May 2014. Liability was disputed.  

BM v County Durham NHS – 2019 – £1,275,000.00 for a 65-year-old female for negligent knee replacement surgery resulting in an above knee amputation.  

RCH v United Lincolnshire NHS – 2019 – £570,000.00 for the estate of a deceased man following his avoidable death from a treatable heart condition.  

MS v CB – 2019 – £420,000.00 for a 58-year-old female for the delay in diagnosing and treating a back injury she suffered following an operation in March 2015. She suffered foot drop and ongoing pain. 

JXP (a protected party) – 2018 – £9,862,000.00 for a 44-year-old female who suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage following a delay in providing surgical treatment of a brain aneurysm before its rupture. 

DXW v BTH NHS – 2018 – £7,250,000.00 for a 20-year-old male rendered paraplegic at T3 level following failures in the A&E department to properly immobilise an unstable thoracic fracture.  

RXW v X, Y & Z – 2018 – £2,500,000.00 for a 46-year-old male that suffered a left sided stroke causing significant neurological disability following alleged failure to correctly diagnose and treat a number of TIAs. Liability was denied by 3 Defendants.  

M v Essex NHS – 2018 – £342,000.00 for a 44-year-old female for alleged failures to prevent exacerbated cauda equina syndrome. Liability was denied. 

Testimonials 

Previous Legal 500 testimonials include:  

“Pragmatic and knowledgeable… a solid, safe pair of hands… a strong negotiator”. 

Client feedback: 

“Iain and Nina have been wonderful. The whole team from start to finish have given me a first-class service. I have already recommended them to others, and I will continue to do so.” 

“I can’t thank you enough for what you have done for me and my family. Your knowledge and skill is remarkable but your care and kindness means so much to me. I can remember my first meeting with Iain seems such a long time ago, but your compassion has never altered. You are all very special people. Please keep in touch, you have become more like family than solicitors.” 

Accreditations  

• Association of Personal Injury Lawyers – Accredited Senior Litigator 
• Member of the Law Society’s specialist Clinical Negligence Panel Accreditation scheme 
• Chambers and Partners ranked solicitor, Band 2, Liverpool & surrounds
• Solicitor-Advocate (Higher Rights of Audience civil proceedings) 
• Solicitor (Grade A) 

Kate is a Clinical Negligence Solicitor with over a decade of civil litigation experience.

Having joined the business in 2016 as a Solicitor/Specialist Litigator in the Medical Negligence Department, she was quickly recognised, both internally and externally, for her solid performance, high technical skills in civil litigation and excellent customer care. Thereafter, she joined Serious Injury Clinical Negligence Team specialising in high value amputation cases, brain and spinal injuries, but also ophthalmic, paediatric, colorectal, neurological and neurosurgical matters; orthopaedic, obstetrics and gynaecological, and complex fatal incidents.

Kate’s Team is a designated Team to deal with amputation cases. She has close affiliation with the Amputation Foundation and enjoys charitable work and fundraising. Kate is also involved in the Amputation Campaign, working closely with a panel of specialists in the field on a bespoke prosthesis provision and support for an individual, in order to raise wider awareness.

Kate is a multiple nominee for the Lawyer of the Year Award.

In addition, she was ranked in the Legal 500 as one of only three Medical Negligence Lawyers in the North West in the Rising Star category in 2019 and retained her status since.

Client feedback

“My case handler Kate was brilliant! I could not be happier with how hard she and others from Fletchers fought for me to have the best outcome. Although I know I have hard days ahead I can finally move on with my life and make plans. Thank you. Oh, I honestly can’t thank you and the whole team enough! You’ve been absolutely amazing! I’ll miss our catch ups ”

“The way my case has been handled and the way I have been treated deserve a higher score than 10/10.”

“I wanted to say a big Thank You for everything you have done for me. I wanted to let you know that I was happy with you as my solicitor.  I just wanted to let you know that I appreciated all our talks. You really did help me in some very dark times. I’ll always think of you as my saviour”

“My solicitor Kate has been excellent and has kept me informed of the progress of my case at all times. I feel very happy with Kate and the empathic way she has dealt with me.”

“If Kate had got this case from the start, would have been over a long time ago, she has been fantastic”

“I would like to thank you and all the team at Fletchers for the way that you have dealt with my claim and the empathy shown. I cannot speak highly enough if the service I received. My case was dealt with in an efficient way from all members of the team. A special thank you to Kate for her quick responses to queries and her empathy.”

“Once again thank you for all your hard work settling my claim. Fantastic service. I was kept fully up to date with my case at all times whether it was by phone or email. Will definitely recommend.”

“ If I was able to meet each and everyone of the team, who cared and in many ways ‘protected’ me, I would hug them. They became ‘friends and family’. Thank you so very much”

“Thank you for your email you put a smile on my face this is great news. Thank you for all your help and hard work I understand it has been a hard job and I appreciate everything that you have done and being understanding in my case. You have been helpful and kept me updated in the process and progress with this matter”

Notable Cases

Post 4th degree tear incontinence case of CJ -v- Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust (2022) [£800,000.00]

Settled liability 65/35 for a minor EB -v- Dr Marshall (2022)

Published Cases

LB v ROYAL FREE LONDON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST (2021)

The claimant, a sixty-three-year-old woman, received £250,000 total damages after her cervical cancer remained undiagnosed and untreated for two years when a cervical smear in 2015 was incorrectly reported as normal. As a result the claimant’s tumour became surgically inoperable and she needed chemoradiation treatment which would otherwise have been avoided. That treatment led to ongoing bowel issues, severe discomfort and had a limiting effect on her mobility, her general functioning and activities.

EDWARDS  v DR SPILL (2020) [£826,000]

The claimant, a 48-year-old woman, received £826,015 total damages for the delay in referral for further investigation of her eyes in June 2014. She underwent several unsuccessful eye operations and suffered an overall reduction in her vision from 15% to 80%.

RA -v  KING’S COLLEGE HOSPITAL NHS FOUNDATION TRUST (2020) [£400,000]

The claimant, a fifty-one-year-old woman, received £400,000 total damages following the continued prescribing of high dose steroid medication for a period of two years following an erroneous diagnosis of Crohn’s disease. The long-term consequences included a prolonged period of immune and adrenal suppression and development of Iatrogenic Cushing’s Syndrome and secondary Adrenal Insufficiency, which was likely to be permanent.

Kouakou -v Dr Agarwal (2020) [£700,000.00]

The claimant, a 53-year-old man, received £700,000 total damages for the injuries to his left eye he sustained as a result of the delay in the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma in July 2015. He suffered optic nerve damage to the left eye and lost 80-90% of the left eye visual field, with a poor long-term visual prognosis.

SINCLAIR v CITY HOSPITALS SUNDERLAND NHS FOUNDATION TRUST (2020) [ £350,000]

The claimant, a 27-year-old old woman, received £350,000 total damages for the injuries she sustained following negligent treatment for a closed comminuted fracture of the radial head in June and July 2015, although causation and injury were denied. She was left with a stiff elbow with 75 degrees fixed flexion deformity, requiring total elbow replacement within 10 years and repeated revision surgery thereafter and was unable to carry out personal care requiring bi-manual function.

MS v SHERWOOD FOREST HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST (2020)

The claimant, a 41-year-old man, received £140,000 total damages for the physical and psychological injuries that he sustained following a failure to diagnose septic arthritis in his knee in May 2015 although liability was denied. He suffered damage to the articular cartilage, post-traumatic stress disorder and severe adjustment disorder, had limited mobility and would require arthroplasty before the age of 50.

As one of the heads of our medical negligence department, Tim supports our overall leadership by managing skilled solicitors across the business. He specialises in claims involving orthopaedic injury & loss of fertility.

Alison is Head of Medical Negligence Serious Injury and is based in our Southport office.

She has over 15 years’ experience in personal injury and medical negligence.  Alison assists with the overall running of the Department and oversees several of the Medical Negligence teams, dealing with a variety of cases from the first call right the way through to Trial.

She currently oversees 4 teams all dealing with catastrophic injuries caused to clients as a result of medical negligence. Her teams specialise in catastrophic spinal, brain and birth injuries in addition to amputation cases.