12KBW Clinical Negligence Seminar

Simon Browne KC

“Always brilliant, he’s polished and prepared and is someone who has a great manner with clients. His advice is spot on.”

Simon is consistently recognised by The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners as a leading silk in the fields of commercial costs and litigation funding, catastrophic brain and spinal injury, and related areas of sports law, clinical negligence, insurance, and professional negligence and professional regulation.

In addition, Simon is at the forefront of the development of law and civil procedure in the Court of Appeal and High Court in cases such as:

• Part 36 regime in F & C Alternative Investments (2012) CA, Walker Construction v Quayside Homes (2014) CA, Yentob v MGN (2015) CA, Seabrook v Adam (2021) CA, and FKJ v RVT (2022) HC.
• Relief from sanctions/abuse of process in Mitchell v NGN (2014) CA, Cable v LV Insurance (2020) CA and CS LLP v HMRC (2024) Upper Tier Tax Tribunal.
• Costs budgets, the drafting of e-bills of costs, and QOCS in Henry v NGN (2013) CA, Bowman v Norfram and Ors. (2018) HC, and AKC v Barking and Havering Health Authority (2022) CA.

Simon is a qualified mediator and arbitrator. He is registered with the Bar Council to accept direct access instructions and at the higher level of conducting litigation.

Dr. David Sharpe KC

David is a specialist clinical negligence practitioner. As a former Emergency Medicine doctor he has a complete understanding of medical practice and what goes wrong. He acts for both Claimants and Defendants (Trusts, NHSLA, MPS/MDU, MOD, and Private Hospitals/Consultants) in all aspects of clinical negligence and in particular high value cases and those which are difficult and/or complex in terms of liability and causation.

He has particular expertise in trial advocacy engaging with medical expert witnesses. His recent cases involve cerebral palsy, obstetric injuries, causa equina injury, missed spinal abcess, failure to recognise sepsis, delayed diagnosis of cancer, surgical complications, and stroke caused by a retained IVC filter.

Andrew Roy KC

Andrew specialises in complex, sensitive and high value cases involving personal injury (especially catastrophic claims), costs, clinical negligence, industrial disease, professional negligence, limitation and related areas.

Andrew has a significant appellate practice up to and including the Supreme Court and Privy Council.  He is head of the 12KBW Costs Team. He sits as a Deputy Costs Judge of the Senior Courts.

Andrew is recognised as a leading silk for Personal Injury and Costs by both Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500, having been ranked since 2009. They note that he has “A razor-sharp intellect coupled with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the case law, who is able to combine both into dazzling and fearless advocacy” and is "a great choice of counsel when you know you have a fight on your hands”.

The directories further describe Andrew as “a great strategist with an eye for the big picture at all times”, “absolutely first class”, “a ferocious advocate”, “Exceptional” with a “phenomenal grasp of the law” and “an incredibly detailed knowledge of each area in which he specialises”.

As one of only a handful of barristers ranked by the directories in both personal injury and costs, Andrew brings in-depth crossover expertise to both his personal injury cases and his costs work. The directories note that in respect to personal injury he is “a strong negotiator and has the added value of real costs expertise”. They likewise note that in respect of costs he “draws strength to his practice through his personal injury expertise.”

Andrew is Head of Pupillage at 12KBW.

John-Paul Swoboda KC

John-Paul’s clinical negligence work is high value work often relating to birth injury, brain injury, spinal injury, amputation, other catastrophic outcomes and fatalities. He receives instructions from most ranked firms. He is ranked in the directories for his clinical negligence work. He enjoys the medical and scientific aspects of such litigation and works closely with his instructing solicitors and experts.

The below provides a flavour of the clinical negligence cases John-Paul undertakes:

• Birth injuries and cerebral palsy cases
• Spinal injuries
• Amputations
• Failure to diagnose meningitis in an infant leading to a catastrophic outcome
• Failure by GP to refer in a sepsis case leading to catastrophic outcome
• Failure to diagnosis a dermoid cyst on a 15-week-old baby leading to severe brain injury.
• Delayed diagnosis of a brain tumour.
• A failure to diagnosis gall stone disease leading to pancreatitis, abdominal sepsis and severe complications including a complex form of diabetes.
• A claim arising from delay in A&E resulting in an above knee amputation.
• A claim arising from unnecessary surgery performed on a minor with complex congenital conditions (club feet and bowed legs) which left the claimant severely disabled.
• A claimant who suffered destruction of vestibular system by being given a toxic dose of antibiotics. As a result, the claimant has little, if any, sense of balance and disturbed vision.
• A failed radical prostatectomy giving rise to complete urinary incontinence.
• A delay in paediatric cardiac surgery leading to the death of a young child with a congenital cardiac condition.
• Failure to act on an abnormal smear test in a young woman who suffered from cervical cancer

Thea Wilson

Thea acts for claimants and defendants in clinical negligence cases arising from a variety of procedures or incidents, in particular:

• Injuries to both mother and baby during pregnancy, labour, and birth
• Delayed or misdiagnosis claims
• Eye injuries and diseases
• Gastrointestinal illnesses and surgery
• Negligence involving joint replacement surgery and aftercare
• Sepsis
• Plastic surgery claims
• Dental negligence
• Failure to obtain informed consent

Thea splits her practice approximately 50/50 between claimant and defendant work, and has acted for NHS Resolution, the MDU, and the Association of Optometrists.

Thea has considerable experience in advising on liability, quantum and causation; drafting pleadings; drafting agendas for expert meetings; drafting Part 18 and Part 35 questions; holding conferences with experts; and representing clients at JSMs, mediations, and in representing parties at all levels of Court hearings.

Recent examples of Thea’s cases include:

• M v An NHS Trust – Advising a claimant who suffered hypoxic brain injury following a premature birth outside hospital.
• H v Dr K – led by William Audland KC, pleaded and advised in a Cauda Equina case.
• T-G (Dec’d) v An NHS Trust – Advising and pleading particulars in a claim for delayed diagnosis of terminal breast cancer. Despite hotly contested arguments on causation and unsupportive medical evidence, settled for a five-figure sum.
• S v Dr W & An NHS Trust – Advising in conference and on paper on liability and quantum, pleading the defence, and representing the defendant at CCMC in a claim involving delayed diagnosis of retinal detachment.
• K v TR Ltd & An NHS Trust – led by Harry Steinberg KC, representing the claimant in a claim for delayed diagnosis of a vascular injury following a tripping accident. Delayed diagnosis and failure to treat resulted in a serious knee injury becoming an above knee amputation. Settled at JSM in 2019 for a seven-figure sum.
• MP v An NHS Trust – led by William Audland KC, representing the defendant in a claim involving serious brain injury during the post-operative period with allegations of surgical negligence, mishandling ITU care and failures of nursing care. Liability and causation in dispute. Settled at JSM shortly before trial.

Vanessa Cashman

Vanessa specialises in clinical negligence. She acts predominantly for claimants and her practice encompasses a huge range of medical specialties. She has particular expertise in birth and obstetric injuries, spinal injury and brain injury. Vanessa is Joint Head of our Clinical Negligence Team.

Vanessa is ranked for clinical negligence in both the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. She is known for her warmth and sensitivity and her extensive medical knowledge.

She also has considerable experience in personal injury, inquests and costs.

Isaac Hogarth

Isaac has a specialist clinical negligence, personal injury and insurance practice. Isaac is generally instructed in cases involving life-changing spinal and brain injuries, chronic pain, amputations and fatalities. He is ranked as a leading junior in personal injury and clinical negligence in both the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners 2025. Isaac is Joint Head of our Clinical Negligence Team.

In addition to his injury practice, Isaac has an established reputation as an insurance specialist and is often instructed to advise insurers and the MIB on technical coverage and indemnity issues.

Isaac is an experienced advocate with an excellent track record at trials, joint settlement meetings and mediations. He is often instructed as a junior in high value claims, and also has extensive experience as sole counsel.

In addition to his civil practice, Isaac is often instructed to provide representation at inquests, particularly those arising from deaths in hospitals and road traffic accidents.

Elizabeth Boulden

Elizabeth acts for both Claimants and Defendants in clinical negligence cases. She is adept at advising on liability and quantum, as well as settling pleadings and clarifying expert evidence in conference.

With her background of 2 science Masters degrees, Elizabeth is well-placed to understand the complex biological issues which can arise in expert evidence.

Elizabeth has dealt with cases involving:

• Alleged negligence in surgical procedures, in particular orthopaedic surgery and general surgery
• Alleged negligence in diagnostic procedures e.g. colonoscopy
• Delays in diagnosis/treatment, including various types of cancer, stroke, orthopaedic injuries, compartment syndrome, endocrine condition, kidney injury and appendicitis
• Alleged deficiencies in nursing care and care of the elderly, e.g. pressure sores and falls risk
• Obstetrics/gynaecology, including those involving uterine injury, ectopic pregnancy
• Neonatal death
• Administration of incorrect medication doses
• Alleged negligence in cannulation, injection, tubing and aspiration
• Urological injuries
• Optometry and ophthalmology

She is happy to act on a CFA basis.

Elizabeth also edits the 12KBW Clinical Negligence blog: https://clinicalnegligence.blog/

Charley Turton

Charley acts in a wide range of clinical negligence cases. She has particular expertise in claims arising from the fields of obstetrics and gynaecology, optometry and psychiatry.

A particular interest of Charley’s is the developing law of material contribution and she spoke on this topic with Michael Rawlinson KC at 12KBW’s annual conference in 2022 and with Henry Charles at the annual webinar day in 2021.

Charley is knowledgeable on issues of informed consent, having produced a research paper on this topic during her legal studies and currently acts for a defendant optometrist in a claim arising from an alleged failure to obtain informed consent to laser eye surgery.

Recent and ongoing instructions arise from:

• Negligent mismanagement of the third stage of labour, leading to uterine inversion, massive obstetric haemorrhage and permanent symptoms of urinary incontinence.
• Negligent aftercare following a laparoscopic pan-proctocolectomy, leading to the need for a permanent stoma.
• Failure to remove retained products of conception following a Caesarean section, leading to sepsis and severe fallopian tube pathology necessitating IVF treatment for future births.
• Failure to treat endometriosis whereby the claimant alleges, amongst other things, that she was negligently prescribed HRT in the absence of an accompanying GnRHa, that residual ovarian tissue had been left in situ during surgery and that she should have been referred to a specialist endometriosis centre sooner.
• Failure to identify and treat a macular hole.
• Serious dental negligence.
• Negligent care leading to development of pressure sores.
• Missed or incorrect diagnoses of orthopaedic injuries.

Charley sits on the 12KBW clinical negligence group committee and contributes to the 12KBW clinical negligence blog: https://clinicalnegligence.blog

She has also been published in the Personal Injury Law Journal (please see ‘Publications’ below).

Dr Chris Danbury, Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine

Dr Chris Danbury is a Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine at University Hospital Southampton and an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Southampton’s Medical School.

The grandson of a doctor and the son of a barrister and Recorder, he attended St. Paul’s in South London from 1980 to 1984. After a gap year, he studied medicine at St. George’s Hospital Medical School, qualifying in 1990. Following his house jobs, he trained in general medicine and spent a year in the virology laboratory at St. Mary’s Hospital before beginning his training in Anaesthetics and Intensive Care Medicine.

His career took him from Oxford to Southampton and then to Western Australia for a year. He worked primarily as a Senior Registrar at the Royal Perth Hospital, but also spent three months at Port Hedland Regional Hospital, where he was the only specialist Anaesthetist/Intensivist for over 1,000 miles.

Upon returning from Australia, he took on the role of Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine and Anaesthetics at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. After 18 years, he moved to University Hospital Southampton in December 2020.

Between 2002 and 2004, he pursued an M.Phil in Medical Law at the University of Glasgow, supervised by Professor Sheila McLean. In 2005, he was offered a Visiting Fellowship in Health Law by the University of Reading.

Roobin Jokhi, Consultant in Obstetrics, Maternal & Fetal Medicine

Roobin Jokhi has been a practicing Consultant at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust since 2010.

He is an Obstetrician, and Fetal and Maternal Medicine Specialist caring for a wide range of women with high risk medical and pregnancy related complications, as well as fully participating in the Obstetric on-call rota and operating regularly.

He has a first-class honours degree from the University of Sheffield in Reproductive Biology and has an MD in the prediction and investigation of preterm birth.

He was the lead reviewer in Sheffield for the Each Baby Counts (EBC) initiative run by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) until the project was closed.

Each Baby Counts was the RCOG’s national quality improvement programme to reduce the number of babies who die or are left severely disabled as a result of incidents occurring during term labour.

He has been the Lead for Maternity Governance at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust since December 2021 and co-ordinates all aspects of Quality and Safety including being the Lead Reviewer for the Perinatal Mortality Review Tool (PMRT) programme within the department and investigating term admissions to the Special Care Unit via the ATAIN programme.