Chambers Review
Provided by Chambers
Clinical Negligence - North Eastern (Bar)
What the Team is Known For
Parklane Plowden is recognised as the leading chambers on the North Eastern Circuit for complex clinical negligence matters, with one source noting "the expertise they have in the area of clinical negligence is fantastic and I always feel confident in the advice they give me." The set houses an enviable bench of experts who are regularly instructed to act on behalf of both claimants and defendants in high-value delayed diagnosis and surgical negligence cases. The members are also experienced in the handling of complex birth injury and fatal accident claims arising from medical negligence. Members recently represented a child who was born with severe disabilities due to the negligence of Nottingham University Hospitals Trust which has settled in excess of £23 million.
Stephen Render is a senior practice director at Parklane Plowden.
Strengths
The clerking team at Parkland Plowden are very helpful and accommodating.
The clerks are really great, chasing everyone up, getting things answered. I never had to chase them.
There is a consistent level of service provided by the clerks who are highly professional, responsive and efficient in managing instructions. Working with them is hassle free and straightforward.
The clerks are all very good and very responsive, accommodating and helpful. It feels like there are more people engaging with us. I only have good things to say.
Notable practitioners
Andrew Axon acts on both the claimant and defendant sides of heavyweight serious injury claims including those arising from surgical negligence, delayed diagnosis of diseases and a failure to supervise those at risk of suicide. He is widely renowned for his handling of cerebral palsy and acquired brain injury claims.
Andrew is a bit of a superstar and a real character. He is very charming and incredibly intelligent. He is a great guy to work with as he gets what you need to know.
Andrew is an outstanding junior. He has great understanding of the issues involved in clinical negligence work and great rapport with clients.
Andrew is one of the top barristers for really complicated and heavily contested cases. He is a very intelligent, thorough and impressive advocate.
Abigail Telford handles a variety of cases across clinical negligence, with particular expertise in delayed diagnosis, spinal injury, and infant fatality. She is also experienced in negligent care leading to serious injury.
Abigail Telford is very approachable, super-friendly and her attention to detail is excellent.
Abigail is a really clever person, and you can just tell when you talk to her. She can speak quicker than my mind can process. She is pleasant, accommodating and great with clients.
Abigail is an excellent advocate and provides brilliant, tactile advice.
Abigail is a fantastic barrister and is always one of my go-to barristers. Her advocacy and analytical skills are second to none. She also has a human and empathetic side when speaking with clients.
She thinks quickly, has a very analytical mind and a fastidious attention to detail. She's down to earth and approachable with clients.
Elizabeth Hodgson is active across a broad range of clinical matters for both claimants and defendant hospitals. She has notable experience in several areas, including failure to obtain consent, delayed diagnosis and surgical negligence cases. She also demonstrates expertise in wrongful birth claims.
Elizabeth is particularly good at conferences. She provides a proposed agenda in advance and she is very swift after a conference at sending her notes through. Her pleadings are also excellent.
Liz is a very impressive figure with an awful lot of experience. She has a lovely manner with people, is very level-headed about everything and she is very assertive.
Anna Datta boasts expertise in handling a variety of matters, ranging from delayed diagnosis to hypoxic brain injury and infant fatalities. She is able to handle cases turning on issues of causation as well as liability.
Anna is excellent and has a fantastic approach with clients.
Anna wants to deal with issues and get to the best conclusion. She's very good to work with and comes across really well with clients. She is deeply knowledgeable in medicine and reassuring.
Anna is extremely thorough, always wants to understand the detail and gets to the heart of the issues. She is really friendly with the clients and I get very clear advice from her.
She is approachable and responsive. I have found Anna very easy to work with and she is an ally in difficult cases.
Anna is fantastic. She turns around her work efficiently, manages expectations and provides excellent legal advice with sound reasoning. She is passionate about the cases she works on.
Howard Elgot assists with long-running and typically high-value claims on behalf of both claimants and defendants. He has demonstrated expertise in brain injuries including cerebral palsy, as well as delayed diagnosis and breach of duty claims resulting in serious injury.
He is great at finding avenues I might not have considered and he has a really great perspective on cases.
Howard is our first choice for senior counsel in high value clinical negligence cases. He gets what's required out of experts, hones in on the important issues, is approachable, and is effective.
He is extremely experienced with a wealth of knowledge. He is very useful.
Hylton Armstrong has an established presence in clinical negligence and receives instructions in a broad range of matters. His expertise encompasses inquests into psychiatric and hospital care, as well as failures to diagnose, extending to cases of patient fatality.
His advice is strong and pragmatic. We have used his advocacy many times and seen him at trial. He is very clear, concise, gets to the points and cross-examines witnesses very well.
Hylton is a go-to character. He is very accommodating, very calm and measured. He advised on some really quite complicated issues and somehow gets his points across in a matter of bullet points.
He is an exceptional barrister who works in true partnership with solicitors and is excellent with clients. He is thorough and detail-oriented, with a collaborative approach which adds real value.
Hylton Armstrong is a very clear barrister, he gives clear advice and guidance.
Hylton is very sound in his reasoning, comprehensive and professional at all times.
Leila Benyounes' expertise in inquests and inquiries feeds into her strong clinical negligence practice. Her work covers obstetric and birth injury cases, delayed treatment and diagnosis and surgical negligence.
It is excellent to have Leila supporting a case. She has a forensic mind and provides excellent advice.
Leila was instructed on a complex clinical negligence matter. She is extremely thorough, helpful and has placed the client at ease at all times.
I've instructed Leila on a very sensitive case. She has guided the client through some difficult issues; she's firm but sensitive to client's emotions and rigorous in her analysis.
She has a gentle manner with the client and is able to get to the heart of the issues with experts. I have been impressed with the way that she has dealt with such difficult cases.
Michael Hill has a well-established reputation as a key clinical negligence barrister with a particular focus on dental claims, boasting strong expertise informed by his previous occupation as a dentist. He represents both claimants and defendants. His capabilities in the medical field extend to other core areas such as orthopaedic negligence and delayed cancer diagnosis claims.
Mike's knowledge of dental negligence claims is outstanding. He is able to navigate the most complex of issues in an efficient manner and steer the claim to success.
Mike Hill is very efficient, he turns his work around in a timely manner, provides very sound advice and is always happy to offer a quick view, off the record. He is an asset to chambers.
Mike is an experienced and knowledgeable senior junior. His knowledge in relation to dental claims is second to none. He is a skilled and confident advocate but also exceptional with lay clients.
Mike has helped achieve a number of excellent results in high value medical negligence claims. He is excellent in relation to medical issues and a strong and fearless advocate.
Richard Copnall earns considerable praise for his work in clinical inquests that lead to civil claims. His matters include cases concerning failures of hospital staff to provide appropriate care, as well as failures to properly monitor patients with mental health issues. He possesses a strong command of misdiagnosis issues.
Richard is sharp and meticulous with a real eye for forensic detail. He is always well prepared and strategic in his thinking. A real asset on any case involving technical or evidential complexity.
I felt that he was well prepared. I was impressed by his advocacy style and how the case was presented.
Stephen Friday handles a range of issues, with a focus on delayed diagnosis and failure to diagnose. His caseload includes complex claims concerning brain injuries and fatalities, and he boasts strong expertise covering issues surrounding informed consent.
He is thorough and very capable.
Stuart Jamieson is head of Parklane Plowden's civil team. He is experienced in handling high value and complex clinical negligence disputes. He has particular knowledge of such areas as delay in diagnosis of cancer or sepsis and brain injury claims.
Stuart Jamieson is very knowledgeable, he comes back quickly with advice, knows what he is doing, and tries to maximise the best outcome for the clients.
He is very good on fatal claims, presenting best possible dependency claims. He is my go-to and puts clients who are experiencing grief at ease.
Stuart quickly builds a rapport with clients. He takes the time to get to know them and remembers details that demonstrates to the client that their narrative has been heard.
Stuart is unbelievably talented in what he does, his expertise and in-depth knowledge of complex legal matters is often of great assistance, and comfort, to instructing solicitors.
Megan Crowther leads the junior civil team at Parklane Plowden. She is an established clinical negligence barrister and acts for both claimants and defendants. Her work regularly consists of such issues as obstetric injury, surgical negligence and fatal claims.
Megan is bright, conciliatory and highly personable.
Megan has assisted in relation to medical negligence claims including providing advocacy at inquests.
I was really impressed by how thorough Megan was in conference notes. She gave practical advice on a difficult case.
Tom Barclay-Semple has a strong claimant and defendant practice. He has appeared both in the High Court and County Court. He is experienced in claims regarding birth injuries, fatal injuries and material contribution.
Tom has been absolutely excellent at representing clients. His attention to detail is amazing and advice he follows up with is always thorough.
Tom is an excellent barrister. He provides logical solutions and has excellent medical knowledge.