Matthew Turner

Practice Areas

Matthew has a broad civil liberties and human rights practice, with a particular focus medical and healthcare issues. His core practice includes inquests, clinical negligence, personal injury, actions against the police and public authorities, and professional discipline (healthcare).

In recent years, Matthew has developed a specialism in wrongful death cases and has gained experience far beyond his level of call. He appears in inquests or pre-inquest review hearings on an almost weekly basis, and has quickly established himself as a leading inquest barrister. Matthew is regularly instructed in complex, lengthy and high-profile inquests, including many Article 2 jury inquests.

Matthew has consistently established multiple probably / possibly causative failings, and has secured riders of ‘neglect’ in seven different inquests since December 2021.

His inquests fall into four broad categories:

• Medical deaths in custody (prisons and mental health hospitals);

• Hospitals deaths or deaths following medical treatment;

• Police deaths; and

• Other deaths, including road traffic accidents and train deaths.

Matthew also represents institutional interested persons, for example local councils. In addition, he is Public Access qualified and accepts certain instructions on this basis.

Career

Matthew was called to the Bar in 2018. He successfully completed his pupillage at a leading civil law set. Before coming to the Bar, he was a commercial solicitor and trained at a Magic Circle law firm.

Matthew graduated first in his year in law at the University of Nottingham. This included a year at the University of Texas at Austin Law School, where he worked as a Student Criminal Defence Attorney representing death row inmates in federal appeals.

Professional Memberships

• Personal Injury Bar Association

• Association of Personal Injury Lawyers

• Action Against Medical Accidents

• Bar Human Rights Committee

• Society of Labour Lawyers

• Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers

Education