Clerking team

Chris Shaw
Chris Shaw

Senior Clerk – Civil, Commercial & Employment Clerk

Martin Craggs

Assistant Senior Clerk

Jennifer Carr

Civil Clerk

Matthew Smith

Civil Clerk

Amie Finch

Junior Civil Clerk

“Recommended Expert.”

Legal 500, 2024 (Personal Injury)

“Andrew is a straight talking barrister who gets right to the point, providing clear and concise advice in the process. He is extremely thorough in his approach to personal injury cases and always provides his advice in a timely manner.”

Chambers UK Bar, 2023

Andrew’s practice falls into four broad areas. RTA litigation, employers’ liability, occupiers’/ public liability and travel law claims. Simply put, cases vary from trials on liability, causation and quantum to interim hearings with significant experience of the new Multi-track CCMC regime and costs budgeting, including arguments over the applicability of CPR 45 and costs recoverability generally.

RTA cases with alleged fraud issues and arguments over credit hire also covered. Andrew is regularly instructed in cases with allegations of Fundamental Dishonesty and applications to set aside QOCS protection.

Travel cases of all complexity are undertaken from Rome II, the Package Tour regulations 1992 and Legionnaire’s cases. Andrew is experienced in presenting quantum cases based upon foreign legal systems.

Andrew also frequently appears at Coroner’s Inquests, some recent cases involving asphyxiation at a chemical factory and a motorcyclist racing on the public highway. He appeared in the inquest of Emma Hughes v Estate of Dayne Joshua Williams (2012) which led to an adverse causation finding against a parent for not using a child seat correctly.

Trained in and accepts Public Access instruction.

Andrew is a keen motorcyclist who enjoys trackdays. Riding experience has helped immeasurably in various RTA cases because of his understanding of biking roadcraft and the performance of modern sportsbikes. Occasional endurance car racing in the UK Funcup Championship. Golf and snowboarding.

Personal injury

Multi-track value cases for both Claimants and Defendants. An average month will involve some RTA or EL trials, CCMC’s , drafting of high value schedules of loss and/or counterschedules, conferences and JSMs.

A quick turnaround on paperwork is provided and Andrew is happy to assist with lectures and training on his areas of expertise.

Andrew is experienced in all aspects of Pain disorder cases, both physically and psychiatrically mediated, serious Brain and Orthopaedic injuries requiring the presentation of complex care and accommodation claims and psychiatric claims. He is often praised by Instructing solicitors for adapting his style during conferences to reassure and succinctly advise his clients.

RTA/MIB cases involving motorcycles (see below).

Recent Cases

Andrew secured a finding of Fundamental Dishonesty against a Claimant in the case of Hodgkinson V Axa Insurance UK Plc at Middlesbrough County Court. The case involved a collision between the Defendant and Claimant, causing damage to the rear off-side of the Claimant’s vehicle. It was subsequently found that the principal witness in the case had, at the time, been in a relationship with the Claimant. Andrew has written a case note with more information on this result. 

Settled a Pain disorder claim following a disputed accident at work for a young mother in excess of a million pounds. Liability resolved then complex causation arguments with covert surveillance addressed. Also found a route through the legal uncertainty of the presentation of accommodation claims following the change in the Discount Rate.

Secured a larger than normal discount for a car on pedestrian RTA brain injury claim in the figure of 75%.

EL slipping case dismissed on the basis of Fundamental Dishonesty and QOCS set aside. Claimant ordered to pay Defendant’s costs of over £20,000.

Successfully defeated Defendant’s causation arguments that a rotator cuff tear in a middle aged male was constitutional in nature as opposed to traumatically induced by lifting heavy loads. Large Ogden disability claim upheld.

Settled a six figure claim for a Claimant whose traumatic lower limb injuries at work were overshadowed by his constitutional Type 1 diabetes. Very complex causation and life expectancy evidence considered.

Mature woman found Fundamentally Dishonest for exaggerating the effects of a minor whiplash injury upon her constitutional conditions. Adverse costs order of 15,000 made against her.

 

 

Catastrophic & fatal accidents

Cases

Settling a multi-million pound claim for the risk of future amputation of a severely damaged lower limb. Complex ice cream cone prosthesis likely to fail in near future. Provisional damages pursued.

Recently settled two seven figure claims at JSM involving arguments over the loss of a chance to pursue a professional career and a case involving bionic upper limb prosthetics for a 22-year-old male.

Advised a young Claimant with learning difficulties in conference in such a manner that she was able to make a decision about her claim following serious orthopaedic lower limb injuries.

Contesting a multi million pound claim for future loss of earnings following alleged career changing injuries. The case was featured in Litigation Futures.

Bringing a multi million pound claim for loss of promotion prospects for a police officer after serious life changing injuries.”

Fraud

Andrew has vast experience of suspected fraudulent claims in road traffic act litigation and other cases of exaggerated quantum. He has dealt with Delta V claims from inception, ghost passenger claims, slam ons, including more complex staged accidents and murky claims handling companies. His pleadings are direct and fully detailed. He knows the ins and outs of the claims handling world often driven by large credit hire claims. Andrew is well known for his accurate and challenging cross examination style at trial.

He provides useful and realistic advice to clients in conference upon the merits of defending a case or improving the prospects of success by the gathering of further evidence or intelligence.

As one of our more senior counsel in Chambers, Andrew regularly provides seminar guidance to Instructing solicitors or insurers about current or future issues. Two recent examples have been seminars to the investigating claims teams of a leading insurer and a discussion of the probably impact of Section 57 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, following Summers v Fairclough Homes (2012).

He considers the arguments over fundamental dishonesty, either for QOCS or section 57 purposes to be the next interesting battleground for insurers, but to sound a note of caution over the practicalities of picking the correct fight.

Cases

Recently involved in a five-day trial with allegations of Fundamental Dishonesty against a practising PI solicitor and other claimants from an alleged staged road traffic accident. Forensic engineering and medical evidence also challenged. Counterclaim brought in the tort of deceit against all alleged conspirators.

Travel claims

Travel Law: claims arising out of accidents abroad from air, sea or road use. For example, a claim for permanent renal damage following food poisoning and legal argument over RTA involving a Polish national domiciled in England, sustaining injury caused by an uninsured Croatian whilst driving in Latvia. Andrew presents quantum cases involving the applicable foreign law. He recently advised on a Baremo case which required the expert to reconsider the difference between ‘discharge’ in UK and Spanish medical practice leading to a significant increase in the damages claimed.

Appointments

  • Deputy District Judge – Northern Circuit

Memberships

  • Personal Injury Bar Association