We know that getting to school at the moment is the last thing on your mind but once we return to normality, parents of young adults with special education needs (SEN) will be disappointed to learn of a recent Court decision. Read more
It has been a record breaking year for us here at Barratts. Our Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence lawyers have recovered compensation of nearly £86,000,000 on behalf of our clients. We feel this is a remarkable achievement for a firm which has only 6 litigation solicitors. Read more
Chambers is a highly reputable independent legal guide which ranks firms all over the world. In Nottinghamshire we are proud to be named as one of only 2 firms recognised for Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence claims. Barratts only has senior expert lawyers to handle this extremely complex area of law which means clients have a dedicated, specialist lawyer to advise throughout their compensation claim . This is vital for clients facing one of the most traumatic times of their lives coping with brain injury, spinal injury, cerebral palsy and fatalities.
Our partners have again all been individually recognised for their expertise which is an amazing achievement. Here is what Chambers reported:
Sources praise department head Ed Myers for delivering an “excellent service.” He is an experienced practitioner in brain and spinal injury claims, as well as representing clients in CICA cases.
David Tomlinson is recognised as “a go-to person for top-value claims.” He is noted for acting in highly complex claims involving catastrophic injuries resulting from RTAs.
Alison Brooks has experience in medical negligence inquests and cerebral palsy cases. Sources are impressed by her “good technical knowledge and experience, clear instructions and focused follow-up.”
Julie Hardy is “outstandingly personable, an extremely good communicator, very tenacious and a delightful person all round,” according to interviewees. Hardy demonstrates expertise in fatal incidents relating to mental health and negligent care cases, as well as high-value birth injury and surgical negligence matters. She is valued by clients for being “passionate about reaching the right outcome,” with one source adding: “She made it very easy to get through the case and had my best interests at heart at all times.”
The “immensely supportive, calm, organised and informative” Emma Zukowska demonstrates expertise in complex birth injury and surgical error cases. Interviewees also note: “She has very good medical and legal knowledge, as well as good judgement.”
Thanks go to all our hardworking staff who make it possible for us to support our clients coping with traumatic injuries. We also recognise the extraordinary clients we have met over many decades who not only cope with adversity but manage to overcome appalling circumstances. Compensation does help to rebuild lives by putting therapy, care and treatment in place. We are a small piece of that puzzle but making a real difference is what keeps our lawyers fighting for injured clients.
Legal 500 is an independent guide of law firms all over the world and recognsied as a benchmark for quality. Each year law firms are judged on their work by asking what their clients and other professionals think of them. Barratts Solicitors has consistently been ranked top for claimant personal injury and clinical negligence work. We know how important the views of our clients are which is why we never take our top ranking for granted. We can only stay at number one with an expert team of lawyers and dedicated staff to provide top quality advice every year.
Barratts always wanted to stand out from the crowd, putting client needs 1st and offering a very personal service from a small niche firm. We are delighted that our client approach continues to be recognised by Legal 500 whose staff spend many hours ensuring only the best lawyers are named in their top tier. Many firms apply to be ranked but few are named and even less come top every year. Making a real difference to the lives of our injured clients is paramount. It is a privilege to help seriously injured clients maximise their quality of life and reach their potential, working with families during litigation and after compensation has been awarded.
With all the news about deal or no deal and backstop clauses, you may be forgiven for not thinking about what will happen if you have an accident in Europe after March 2019.
At Barratts Solicitors we have a reputation for pursuing claims for clients who have been injured in road traffic accidents anywhere in the world. As an EU citizen, if you are injured in the EU, we are able, in almost all circumstances, to pursue your claim in the UK Courts. This avoids the need to identify an EU lawyer and the problems of litigating in a foreign language with unfamiliar procedures.
We have successfully helped clients in this way. It limits their stress as they have direct access to an English lawyer and a familiar country. However, if we leave the EU, there will be no such right to bring a claim in the UK. Access to justice will be seriously impaired. This is because the ability to bring a claim in this country will be removed. Injured clients will have to find and instruct a lawyer in the country where the accident happened. They may have to return to the country, where the accident occurred, for the case to be heard. This can be very traumatic.
We will continue to do all we can for individuals injured abroad, but the new regime will undoubtedly prejudice many people injured on European roads.
To find out more about the campaign to protect victims of road traffic accidents in Europe, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) are campaigning on this issue. We would urge you to read their briefing policy for the Government:
https://www.apil.org.uk/files/online-files/165-742534/MotorVehiclesAmendmentAPILBriefing.pdf
For some families, an Inquest can be an important, yet inevitably very difficult, part of the grieving process following the death of a loved one. The purpose of an Inquest is to reach a conclusion regarding the circumstances of a person’s death and throughout the process the Coroner is guided by the evidence of key witnesses.
At Barratts we often receive instructions to provide legal assistance at Inquests on behalf of the bereaved families, to assist them through what can sometimes be a complex process. Legal representation also ensures that families are fairly represented and on an equal-footing with other parties (such as medical practitioners or local government organisations) who will have the financial and legal backing of the Hospital Trust or Local Authority.
Obtaining answers for the bereaved family is intended to be the focal point of the Inquest, but in circumstances where the level of trust has already been broken between the family and others involved, fairness and equality is of paramount importance. The prospect of a formal Inquest can be very daunting for those involved. Families need to be confident that they are asking the right questions of the witnesses and that they can understand the answers without being overwhelmed by medical and legal jargon. It is also important for families to be sure that the Coroner has been given all the relevant evidence from everyone involved, including themselves, to make an informed decision about the cause of death.
Whilst public bodies and other organisations will have the financial support to obtain a high level of legal representation, families often do not. The cost involved can be the deciding factor as to whether legal representation is obtained at all.
Like most injury lawyers, we were delighted when the Ministry of Justice indicated that they would look at the possibility of introducing public funding for families at Inquests where a State organisation is legally represented. Lawyers have long been campaigning for equality of arms between bereaved families and the State at Inquests.
Disappointingly, the Ministry of Justice announced last week that it would not introduce automatic public funding in Inquests where the State is represented. Instead funding will only be reserved for the ‘most serious cases’.
This decision has been met with an outcry of disappointment from bereaved families and those organisations which have campaigned on their behalf for further support. Those same concerns have been previously echoed in a 2017 government-commissioned report – which reviewed the experiences of families affected by the Hillsborough disaster – and highlighted a ‘pressing need’ for families to receive publicly funded legal representation.
Legal Aid is still available in certain circumstances for representation at Inquests but its availability is very limited. Our Clinical Negligence Partner Julie Hardy has obtained Legal Aid on behalf of two clients in recent years to provide representation at an Inquest concerning deaths occurring due to failures in medical care. Sadly we have had many other clients who have not been granted funding; this is despite the fact that they have lost family members in the most tragic of circumstances and the public purse has funded legal representation for the organisations which the family believe are responsible for the death.
The campaign for bereaved families will continue but in the meantime the Ministry of justice have lost an opportunity to redress the imbalance between families and Government organisations. See what the Law Society Gazette has to say on our Facebook page.
Click https://www.facebook.com/pg/BarrattsSolicitors/posts/?ref=page_internal
then use the search box on the right to look for “inquests” and you’ll be able to read the post from February.
