Clerking team

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

Jacqui Swain is an experienced barrister in personal injury work, having been called to the bar at Lincoln’s Inn in 1998. She also undertakes work in clinical and cosmetic negligence.

Personal injury

Jacqui represents claimants and defendants in all aspects of multi-track and fast track personal injury litigation. Areas of expertise include serious and fatal road traffic collisions – in particular, cases involving pedestrians, motorcycles or heavy goods vehicles; fraud and fundamental dishonesty; employer’s liability, accidents at work; public liability; occupier’s liability; and product liability. Jacqui has a special interest in personal injury cases involving:

  • Scarring and burns injuries
  • Cosmetic negligence
  • Head injuries resulting in hearing loss and/or tinnitus
  • Claims brought on behalf of children or protected parties

Cases

Jan 2022: Successfully represented the Claimant, a 22-year-old Healthcare Assistant, in a fast track trial arising from a road traffic accident claim in which allegations of dishonesty were made by the Defendant. The court found the Claimant to be straightforward, honest and genuine. The telematics data showed that whilst the Defendant was travelling at 9.3mph at the point of impact, she was not ‘creeping’ forwards and that she was not in a ‘queue’ of traffic beforehand, as she had stated in her witness statement. In finding for the Claimant at trial and dismissing any suggestion of untruthfulness or exaggeration on the part of the Claimant, the Judge acknowledged that the allegations, if made out, would have had a devastating effect upon the Claimant and her employment and awarded 10% penalty interest on damages – the Claimant beat her Part 36 offer at trial.

Dec 2021: Advised the Claimant in respect of a damages claim arising from an accident at work. The Claimant, then aged 54 years, was working as a joiner on a construction site, when a metal column shutter on a crane swung away from a concrete column and struck the claimant on the head/right ear causing him to fall and sustain a head injury, moderate bilateral permanent hearing loss and tinnitus. Case ongoing.

Dec 2021:  Advised the Claimant, aged 22 at the date of a serious road traffic accident, in which she sustained injuries affecting her abdomen, bowel, bladder, resultant scarring, also orthopaedic injuries to her back and right foot, significant psychological injury. Case ongoing.

Nov 2021: Successfully represented the Defendant company in a three day quantum only multi-track trial at Chester CC, trial concluded in Nov 2021 having been part heard from Sept 2020. The Claimant gave evidence through an interpreter. Liability was previously agreed on an apportioned basis of 80:20 in the C’s favour. The C suffered serious physical and psychological injuries because of falling from a tail lift whilst at work as a delivery driver. The court gave judgment for the Claimant in the sum of £22,000 as against a claim pleaded in the sum of £119,000. The Claimant failed to beat three Part 36 offers previously made by the Defendant. The Claimant was ordered to pay the Defendant’s costs from the 9th March 2020 up to and including the date of trial, which were agreed would be set off as against the Claimant’s damages.

Nov 2021: Successfully represented the Claimant in a fast track trial on liability and quantum. The Claimant was travelling as a passenger in a vehicle driving adjacent to a grass verge being mown by an employee of the Defendant. A piece of gravel/grit was caused to be ejected from beneath the Defendant’s commercial lawn mower, through the open window of the van in which the Claimant was travelling, striking the Claimant’s left eye causing a laceration to his cornea. The court found in favour of the Claimant at trial on liability. The Claimant beat his Part 36 offer.

Nov 2021: Successfully acted for the Defendant at trial on liability and quantum. The Claimant claimed £30,000 in a damage only claim in respect of the vehicle in which his son, aged 18, was driving. The Claimant maintained that the Defendant had changed lanes and caused the accident. The Defendant, a retired paramedic with over 30 years’ experience of driving including a high speed professional driving qualification, maintained that the Claimant’s son had driven at high speed and attempted to undertake on the left hand side. In doing so, the Claimant collided with the Defendant’s VW Beetle travelling over the wheel arch in such a way to ‘launch’ the vehicle which he was driving onto its roof and to come to rest a significant distance along the road. The court found for the Defendant and dismissed the claim.

Oct 2021: Successfully represented the Defendant in a case in which allegations of fundamental dishonesty were made. The Claimant discontinued the claim at court on the morning of trial.

Oct 2021: Successfully acted for two Claimants, husband, and wife, in a fast track trial in which serious allegations of fundamental dishonesty were made by the Defendant in respect to occupancy and causation. The Claimant beat their Part 36 offers.

Aug 2021: Successfully represented the Second Defendant on Appeal (co-defending alongside counsel for the First Defendant) against a decision to refuse to set aside judgment in default. A fast track claim for damages brought by the Claimant against the First and Second Defendant motorcyclists – a serious motorcycle collision in which the First Defendant died.

Mar 2021: Quantum case reported on Kemp on Westlaw. Successfully represented a Claimant who sustained a crushed finger whilst carrying a staircase at work. He suffered a displaced comminuted fracture of the distal phalanx and partial amputation to the top of the left non-dominant middle finger. He underwent terminalisation surgery, and suffered with pain, and cold intolerance. An award of £10,000 general damages was made by the court.

Clinical negligence

Miss Swain has recent experience in claims involving a degree of complexity in respect of breach and causation, e.g. alleged negligent radiofrequency controlled ablation of kidney causing gradual perforation of the bowel, emergency surgery and colostomy; delay in diagnosis and treatment causing peritonitis and the formation of large pelvic abscesses requiring extensive surgery; negligent failure to remove a swab following gynaecological surgery and subsequent failures resulting in significant and unpleasant physical and psychological symptoms for several years. She is actively increasing her practice in clinical negligence.

Miss Swain has particular expertise in claims involving negligent beauty and cosmetic treatments including cosmetic surgical procedures to the face, chest, buttocks; and also non-invasive beauty treatments involving lasers, waxing, dermal fillers and tattooing.

Cases

September 2018 – W: Represented the claimant in a clinical negligence claim for damages arising from the alleged negligent performance of a radiofrequency ablation procedure resulting in a life threatening bowel perforation necessitating emergency surgery, intensive care and long term stoma. Liability was denied. Advising the claimant in multiple conferences, drafting pleadings, attending interlocutory hearings and at JSM. The claim was listed for a four day trial in November 2018. The claim settled successfully at JSM in the sum of £80,000 in September 2018.

2016- S: Advising the claimant in conference, drafting pleadings and schedule of loss in a complex clinical negligence case involving a significant delay in diagnosis and treatment causing peritonitis and the formation of large pelvic abscesses requiring extensive surgery. The claimant also suffered a psychological injury. The claim settled successfully in the sum of £100,000.

Memberships

  • Personal Injury Bar Association
  • Northern Circuit

Awards/Education

  • Lincoln’s Inn – Sir Thomas More (also including an Accommodation award), 1997 and 1998
  • Lincoln’s Inn – Hardwicke Scholarship, 1998
  • Bar Vocational Course, Inns of Court School of Law, London, 1998
  • LLB (Hons) IIi Leicester University, 1994-1997