Charlotte Rees-Knowlden

Practice Areas

Charlotte joined the Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence team as a Senior Associate Solicitor in April 2019 having worked previously at several large firms in the South East. She was promoted to Partner in January 2020 and became Head of Department in October 2022. Charlotte is ranked in Chambers and Partners 2024.

She has over 20 years of experience in advising clients on Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence matters, and in particular, in accessing rehabilitation for those who have suffered a major trauma / life changing injury.

Charlotte acts solely for Claimants and is a very experienced and robust advocate with extensive litigation experience and specialises in high value claims and claims with complex liability and causation issues.

Her particular area of specialism in Clinical Negligence is in terms of spinal injury and in particular Cauda Equina cases. She also has a lot of experience dealing with cases involving surgical error.

In terms of personal injury cases, Charlotte has extensive experience in spinal injury claims, brain injury claims, neuro-trauma, amputation / de-gloving and complicated musculo-skeletal cases arising from workplace accidents and road traffic collisions in particular. She also has a lot of experience in assisting Claimants who have sustained facial and dental injuries.

Charlotte is very focussed on rehabilitation and she is very passionate about the implementation of early rehabilitation and has a thorough working, and applied knowledge of The Rehabilitation Code, which she uses to full advantage for her clients. Within this she recognises that recovery and rehabilitation is often the most important issue for anyone who has suffered a major trauma, and that each case is unique and that access to prompt and intensive rehabilitation is in the best interest of the injured party.

Charlotte is also experienced in terms of adapted accommodation and equipment issues, particularly for those with brain injuries, paraplegia, tetraplegia and amputations. An important part of this process can be to secure private funding (interim payments) which Charlotte achieves by pursuing Defendant insurers at the earliest opportunity. These payments can enable the provision of care and therapy regimes and where relevant, appropriate further surgery, equipment and even housing.

Charlotte understands that embarking upon a case involving injury can seem complicated, lengthy and perhaps even intimidating, and as such, that it is important to have someone who completely understands the need of each client, their injuries and their needs moving forward.

She is known for her robust technical medical and legal knowledge and her targeted negotiations which give her the ability to resolve cases in a constructive and conciliatory way. She is also known for being able to settle cases which have been turned down by other law firms. Clients are frequently signposted to Charlotte for her approachable and specialist approach. She is happy to take over cases from other firms of solicitors if a client has been unhappy with their previous legal representation.

Her approach with clients is practical and thorough yet empathic. She fights for her clients and is passionate about getting the best results for them.

Charlotte is very passionate about her client’s quality of life and works hard to make the legal claims process as simple and stress free as possible for her clients and enjoys forming relationships with her clients and their families to understand their needs and help facilitate them.

She is also very well connected in the ‘worlds’ of spinal and brain injuries in particular, which means that she can offer clients a far greater insight / service than just running their claim. She can signpost clients to both medical and non-medical services to assist in the treatment and management of her clients’ neurological conditions which is aimed at improving quality of life, a paramount issue for Charlotte and her team.

Charlotte actively encourages mediation between the parties in clinical negligence claims in particular to encourage swift and high-level settlements for her clients.

The aspects of her work that Charlotte particularly enjoys are the interactions with her clients and their families, the difference that a damages awarded can make to someone who has sustained life changing injuries and also the ability to advocate firmly on their behalf for the very best outcome.

Charlotte is a member of APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) and is currently featured within The 2023 Headway Directory of Approved firms.

She has also recently accepted the role of Trustee for Headway South West London, and is now an active member of a working committee within the charity.

Professional Memberships

Charlotte is a member of APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) and is currently featured within The 2023 Headway Directory of Approved firms.

She has also recently accepted the role of Trustee for Headway South West London, and is now an active member of a working committee within the charity.