David Knifton KC

Practice Areas

David specialises in high-value personal injury and clinical negligence cases, particularly those involving brain or spinal cord injuries, amputations, serious psychiatric injuries and historical sex abuse claims. He acts almost exclusively on behalf of claimants, where his abilities as an outstanding advocate are widely recognised. He is consistently recommended as a leading barrister in Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500.

As a junior, he was regularly instructed, with or without a leader, in claims of the utmost severity. His highest award in that capacity was £5.85m, and he consistently achieved settlements totalling around £20m per year.

Since taking silk, his catastrophic injury practice has continued to develop, and his enormous experience, meticulous preparation, excellent client skills and pragmatic approach are highly-valued by clients.

David generally only accepts new instructions in cases with a value in excess of £1m.

He has acted at a number of high-profile Inquests and public inquiries, including the North Wales (Waterhouse) Child Abuse Inquiry and the ‘Blue 25’ Inquest concerning the deaths of 5 UK servicemen shot by a rogue Afghan policeman.

Recent PI highlights include:

• MIB v Lewis [2019] EWCA Civ 909, a ground-breaking case establishing that the MIB was directly liable as an emanation of the state under the EU Motor Insurance Directive for injuries caused by the use of an uninsured vehicle on private land, and which was compromised in 2020 following the Supreme Court’s refusal of the MIB’s application for permission to appeal

• M v MOD (2018), in which David secured an award of over £7m on behalf of a Navy pilot who suffered a severe brain injury when he fell between decks on an aircraft carrier

• S v Jones (2020), a case involving a young man who suffered a devastating spinal cord injury resulting in paraplegia as a result of a motorcycle accident. Following the failure of the previous legal team to assemble a suitable team of experts, with a risk of the Claimant being significantly under-compensated, David’s instruction led to a fresh team of experts being assembled, enabling him to negotiate a total award of almost £6.5m

• L v Probus (2021), in which David secured an award of almost £2m on behalf of one of the victims of the 2017 London Bridge terrorist attack

• O v Lasham Gliding Society (2021), in which David’s expertise in aviation accidents led to an award of £3m (the limit of the Defendant’s insurance cover) for a female student who suffered a spinal cord injury owing to the negligent launch of her glider

• G, M and M v MOD (2019-20), in which awards totalling over £9m were secured on behalf of 3 servicemen who suffered serious injuries in IED blasts in Afghanistan due to inadequately-armoured vehicles, despite a defence of combat immunity being raised by the MOD

• MS v JB (2020), where the High Court approved an award of over £1.25m to a pedestrian who suffered a severe brain injury when he was struck by a car whilst apparently “playing chicken” in the road when drunk. Despite a firm denial of liability, David’s careful analysis of the CCTV evidence demonstrated that the vehicle was travelling well in excess of the speed limit

• H v City of York (2022), in which David negotiated a settlement of nearly £2m for a claimant with mild learning difficulties who underwent an above-knee amputation when thrown from his moped after it struck a pothole

• GK v Tradex Ins (2020), believed to be the first JSM conducted entirely by video link, in which a settlement of £3.8m was negotiated on behalf of a young man with significant pre-existing behavioural issues attributable to childhood abuse, who suffered a devastating brain injury as a passenger in a road traffic collision, resulting in a lifelong need for care support.

David’s tenacity when addressing difficult liability issues enables him to achieve remarkable successes. He recently secured a full admission of liability in a case where a young boy was run over by a bus over 14 years ago, the Claimant’s mother having previously been advised that any claim was hopeless. Likewise, the award of over £1.25m in MS v JB was secured despite advice from the KC originally instructed that the claim had no realistic prospects of success. In P v Derby CC (2021), his careful analysis of the law and persuasive advocacy at a meeting with the Defendants led to an offer of almost £1m for an incomplete spinal cord injury sustained by a young woman who fell from a parapet wall after drinking on a night out in Derby. His meticulous analysis of the expert evidence in SW v Aviva (2020) enabled him to negotiate an award of £500,000, despite symptoms suggestive of traumatic brain injury having only developed many years after a relatively minor accident to a child passenger.

In his clinical negligence practice, David is currently instructed in a number of cerebral palsy cases arising from obstetric negligence, as well as challenging claims arising from surgical, anaesthetic and diagnostic failures.

Recent clinical negligence highlights include:

• C v The Walton Centre (2018), in which David secured approval of a substantial award on behalf of an elderly patient who suffered brain damage as a result of a negligent delay in diagnosing meningioma. Whilst the Trust argued that she should be cared for in a residential setting, David successfully negotiated a settlement involving a lump sum of over £1m and periodical payments of £265,000 per annum to enable her needs to be met by a team of carers at home

• C v Bolton NHS Foundation Trust (2021), a remarkable obstetric negligence case in which the disclosure of mobile phone video footage of the delivery taken by the baby’s grandmother proved that the timings in the hospital notes were inaccurate, and that the midwife had failed to recognise a shoulder dystocia. Breach of duty and causation for the resulting acute hypoxia and quadriplegic cerebral palsy have since been admitted

• H v Dada (2021), in which, despite breach of duty and causation remaining firmly in dispute, David secured a settlement of over £1.6m on behalf of a woman who suffered a spinal stroke during back surgery, owing to the anaesthetist’s failure to monitor and maintain her blood pressure at adequate levels

• D v St Helens & Knowsley NHS Trust (2021), a claim involving failure by a consultant paediatrician to refer a patient with a rare vascular malformation to a specialist neuro-surgery and neuro-oncology team at a tertiary centre, resulting in tumour growth, leading to permanent spinal cord injury

• W v Bolton NHS Foundation Trust (2021), a challenging clinical negligence claim, involving failure to detect and treat a spinal epidural abscess which developed after previous spinal decompression surgery, leading to spinal cord compression injury and profound disability

In addition to his PI and clinical negligence work, David has acted at a number of high-profile Inquests and public inquiries, including the North Wales (Waterhouse) Child Abuse Inquiry and the ‘Blue 25’ Inquest concerning the deaths of 5 UK servicemen shot by a rogue Afghan policeman.

David regularly provides lectures and training on topical legal issues both through Chambers and to organisations including AVMA, APIL, SCIL and PIBA, and is a frequent contributor to Chambers’ PI Newsletter. He has nearly 20 years’ experience sitting as a Recorder in both the Crown and county courts.

Career

Call: 1986

KC: 2018

Recorder: 2003

Accredited Mediator: 2006

Professional Memberships

Personal Injuries Bar Association

Professional Negligence Bar Association

Personal

David is married with 4 children, 3 of whom have autism spectrum disorders. He was responsible for setting up a pro bono alliance between Exchange Chambers and the National Autistic Society to provide advice and representation in the field of special educational needs. This alliance has provided invaluable assistance to parents struggling to secure appropriate education to meet their children’s needs. Away from work, he is a keen musician, singing in a choir and occasionally playing guitar and keyboards in a band. He enjoys cycling, and was a member of the Chambers’ team which raised nearly £30,000 following a trans-Pennine charity ride.