Meeting the Expert Inquests Team at Barratts Solicitors

Inquests Team

Alison Brooks

Alison is a Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel member and Honorary AvMA Panel Member. With over 30 years experience handling medical claims, she is a recognised leader in her field.

I am privileged to have acted for clients as their clinical negligence solicitor for over 30 years and am proud to be one of the 1st solicitors who specialised in medical claims. My expertise was recognised by the charity, Action Against Medical Accidents (“AvMA”) in December 2016. I was proud to be awarded honorary membership of their specialist clinical negligence panel. The award was given for my “work on behalf of injured patients and their families” and “longstanding contribution in the fields of clinical negligence and patient safety”.

Chambers and Legal 500, independent legal guides, regard me as a notable practitioner. The latest edition notes that I have vast experience in a range of clinical negligence cases and I attract particular praise for my “personal approach.” I have “noteworthy expertise in cerebral palsy matters.” Previous quotes include “excellent client care skills” and “high standards”. Sources also described me as a “hardworking and tenacious advocate” who is celebrated for her “good judgment and thorough approach to a case”.

I am also recommended by Legal 500 which describes the firm as “one of the best in the country”.

I was one of the first members of the Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel. I was one of the first to agree guaranteed annual payments by the NHS to a client with cerebral palsy. My work has given me a unique insight into the lives of families living with disability and loss as a result of negligent medical care. I am always amazed at their strength and determination to find answers. My involvement at Inquests is another opportunity to highlight failings in patient safety and seek improvements. I have also acted for seriously injured clients in personal injury claims and criminal compensation. Through my work as a Deputy for clients I have witnessed the importance of getting the right compensation to look after clients for their lifetime.

Compensation sadly is not able to change clients’ disabilities or loss but my work can help prevent accidents happening to other patients. I juggle the skills of a lawyer, social worker, counsellor and negotiator with a lay person’s forensic analysis of medical records. Most importantly I am a listening ear for my clients who put their trust and faith in me. I cannot think of any other area of the law that is so rewarding.

Last but not least, for many years I have been involved with pro bono work for charities in London and Nottingham. I am Vice-Chair of Trustees of FootprintsCEC, a Nottingham charity which uses conductive education to helping children with neurological conditions and Downs Syndrome. I am past Secretary of Headway Northwest London and the United Kingdom Acquired Brain Injury Forum (UKABIF) and am former Governor of a Scope school. I have been interviewed by the media and spoken at conferences both in the UK and Australia.

The challenge of securing compensation for clinical negligence clients means that every day is different. I am fortunate to also be a partner in a firm which prides itself on being run as a family style business, only employing a small specialist team of experienced senior lawyers. I could not ask for a better team of lawyers and assistants who help to ensure that I achieve the very best for my clients.

alison.brooks@barratts.legal

0115 9315181

Accreditations

Lesley Edwards

Lesley specialises in complex personal injury claims including cross-border cases and is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.

I am really proud to say that I have acted for injured Claimants since I qualified as a solicitor in 1999 and I am passionate about helping clients rebuild their lives after suffering devastating accidents.

I have dealt with a broad range of personal injury claims including clients who have suffered traumatic brain injury and/or spinal cord injury. I have been instructed by families who have been bereaved and I have represented them at inquests and supported them in bringing claims on behalf of their loved ones.

At times like these, having suffered a life changing event, what clients really need is clear and practical advice and a lawyer that they can trust to get things done. It means a lot to me that my clients have chosen me to represent them and I see acting for them as a privilege. I really enjoy looking after my clients and forging great relationships, I want them to feel that they have someone on their side. When clients have trusted me with their claim, it is key that they feel I am both approachable and considerate of their needs.

As well as acting for clients injured here in England and Wales I also act for clients who have been seriously injured abroad whilst on holiday or employed abroad. I am also an experienced transport lawyer and have dealt with numerous aviation matters in my career.

Cross border cases can be particularly challenging because they often involve suing a foreign insurer using the laws of the country where the accident happened. This means that they can take longer to resolve than domestic cases and there are more obstacles to overcome. However, because I have years of experience of this type of work, I can predict the issues that we will face and have plenty of strategies to overcome them. It can be frightening if you are seriously injured in a foreign country but I can offer practical advice and support because of my expertise handling claims abroad

I have been instructed in some ground breaking cases through my cross border work. I acted for the Claimant in Wigley-Foster v The Motor Insurers Bureau [Court of Appeal 2016]. In this case the Court of Appeal ordered the Motor Insurers Bureau to pay my client’s damages, in circumstances where the Greek insurer of the driver that had injured her had become insolvent. The decision clarified the law for other Claimants in similar positions and is still the leading authority on this issue.

I have been described by the Legal 500 as a “superb attorney” but the most important thing for me is to make a difference to my clients’ lives; I take pride in being able to offer them legal and moral support throughout the life of their personal injury claim and beyond.

mailto:lesley.edwards@barratts.legal

(0115) 931 5171

Ross Brain

I am delighted to have joined the team here at Barratts, as a co-director and owner of the business, with Alison Brooks, Senior Partner. I cannot think of another firm that has been consistently ranked number one in the specialist areas of personal injury and clinical negligence litigation since being established, over 30 years ago.

After some time away from the law developing my business skills, the offer to join this stand out firm, as Managing Partner, was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Barratts occupies a unique position in the Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence field, being a specialist firm that provides a truly personal service to its clients.

My background is in Clinical Negligence litigation, having qualified as a Solicitor in 1999. I was honoured to be a specialist Claimant clinical negligence panel solicitor with Action Against Medical Accidents (“AvMA”), a charity dedicated to patient safety and helping those affected by medical accidents. Most of my career has been spent at a ‘Top 100’ London law firm, where I became a senior equity partner and headed up the Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence team. I have also worked as a locum at Barratts before joining the firm full time in October 2021.

During my long career I have handled cases across the clinical spectrum resulting in serious physical and mental injury. These have included failure to diagnose cauda equina and DVT or pulmonary embolism ; I have also acted for clients in obstetric claims involving still birth and maternal death, and hypoxic injury during birth leading to cerebral palsy and orthopaedic claims involving loss of limbs due to mismanaged infections.

I have spent time working as a Defendant Clinical Negligence solicitor in a ‘Top 100’ NHS Panel law firm, which has given me a unique insight into how Hospital Trusts, NHS Resolution, and Defendants approach clinical negligence claims.

Barratt’s ethos is centred around the work it does to support the lives of seriously injured Claimants, whether that injury occurs in the hospital / medical setting, on the roads, at work, or because of a criminal assault. Achieving justice for injured Claimants, so that they can live their life to the fullest, is at the heart of what the firm does and at the heart of what I want to achieve for my clients.

I am dedicated to fighting for patient safety in the clinical setting and I look forward to renewing my involvement with AvMA to help improve patient safety. I have also spent time helping bereaved families at inquests and was proud to be asked to represented The Patients Association, as one of the interested parties, at The Mid-Staffordshire Public Inquiry – this was set up to investigate the systemic failings in patient safety that occurred at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust. Sadly, we continue to see reports of other Trusts with systemic failings and I hope my experience will support these organisations to ensure lessons are learned for the future.

It is exciting to be back in the claimant world helping injured Claimants achieve the results they deserve. It is a privilege to join Barratts and to work with such an exceptional, senior team. I am extremely excited to be building on Barratts reputation to develop the firm and continue to support injured clients.

Vicki Holmes

I am a partner in the Clinical Negligence team at Barratts. After working for 20 years in London and the south, I moved to Australia; I continued working for clients injured in medical cases in Australia, before joining Barratts in November 2023. I am therefore dual qualified as a solicitor in both the UK and Australia.

After 30 years working in this field, I am able to advise clients in all areas of medical negligence, including cerebral palsy, spinal claims, missed diagnoses and fatal cases. My priority is to progress cases as quickly as possible so that I can obtain much needed help for clients with rehabilitation and support. No amount of money can change what has happened to a client but it can make life less stressful and improve recovery for clients.

The directors of Barratts previously worked with me in London and approached me directly to join their clinical negligence team. I had no hesitation in accepting this offer, and I am very excited to be working in a small, niche firm with such a fantastic reputation for client care and expertise.

David Tomlinson

David is one of the founding partners of Barratt Goff & Tomlinson.

I am David Tomlinson, one of the founding partners of Barratts Solicitors.

I have been handling personal injury claims for over 30 years, particularly those claims involving very serious injuries including spinal cord injury, brain injury and amputations. I am a Fellow of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and am also a Deputy for some of my clients who lack capacity to manage their affairs.

I am recognised by the Chambers guide to the legal profession and the Legal 500 as being a leading individual in personal injury work. Past editions of this guide noted “David Tomlinson is praised for his experience in personal injury claims, particularly in complex spinal cord cases. An interviewee highlights that he is “super sharp” and “on top of the law in cases,” while another source adds: “He was incredibly supportive, informative, knowledgeable and reassuring.”

I am also recommended in Legal 500 which describes the firm as “one of the best in the country”. I am the former Secretary of the Spinal Cord Injury Special Interest Group of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.

In addition to obtaining well over £50 million compensation for my clients I have also taken a very active part in the rehabilitation process and by working closely with case managers, occupational therapists, medical practitioners, architects etc I have helped maximise my clients prospects for recovery and helped to improve the quality of their lives and environment following their serious injuries. In the early stages following an accident taking active steps to help with rehabilitation, discharge from hospital and specialist medical treatment is far more important than the pure compensation (although there is no getting away from the fact that maximising the amount of compensation obtainable is going to make a significant difference to long-term quality of life for my clients).

I am very fortunate to be assisted by my colleague, Lee Wraight, who has worked with me for over 20 years.

I live in Rutland with my wife and three children.

david.tomlinson@barratts.legal

0115 931 5199

Accreditations

Inquests Team

Accreditations

Barratts

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