Areas of Expertise

• Clinical Negligence

  Rachel is regularly instructed by claimants and defendants, via their medical defence organisation, in a wide variety of clinical negligence claims.  She has considerable experience of cases involving stillbirths and the specific common law principles to be applied to the recovery of damages in this context.

  Rachel is regularly instructed at the outset of a case to determine its merits, or to determine whether it is a case to be rigorously defended.  This invariably involves either advising on paper, if the matter is relatively straightforward, or in conference in circumstances where matters are more complex or there are a number of experts.

  Frequently, Rachel will advise in conference in cases where there are in excess of five disciplines of expert.  In such circumstances, it is important to be clear as to the evidence of each expert.  It may be that a party is reliant upon the evidence of multiple experts in order to succeed in their claim or defence.  Accordingly, it is important for this evidence to be tested and for the content of the expert report to be accurate and clear in readiness for service.

  Rachel has considerable experience of drafting particulars of claim and defences in a wide range of matters, including pleading fundamental dishonesty, which is featuring more heavily in clinical negligence claims in recent times.  Rachel has considerable experience of pleading complex and high value schedules and counter-schedules in circumstances where breach of duty, causation and condition and prognosis are all in dispute.  She takes her pleading obligations extremely seriously and takes time to ensure that the medical records are very carefully considered prior to putting pen to paper.  She has experience of representing all parties to clinical negligence litigation and regularly pleads cases worth more than £2million.  She appreciates, however, that even low value clinical negligence claims can throw up complicated issues of fact and law, and is happy to advise in these cases, too.

  Rachel has considerable experience of representing all parties at CCMC’s.  This includes challenging and seeking to uphold costs budgets as well as ensuring that appropriate directions are obtained.

  She has considerable experience of drafting agendas in difficult and complex cases, as well as making appropriate amendments to such agendas, depending upon the needs and interests of the party that she represents.

  Rachel regularly represents claimants and defendants in joint settlement meetings and mediations.  She has vast experience of determining damages in Fatal Accidents Act claims as well as in cases where claimants have been left disabled due to clinical negligence.

  Rachel has considerable experience of managing claims on behalf of defendants in circumstances where there is room for doubt as to the veracity of the Claimant’s claim.

• Inquests

  Rachel considers that her role as an Assistant Coroner has enabled her to become a more polished advocate in the Coroner’s Court. She has considerable experience of dealing with issues of disclosure, scope and whether a Jury is to be summoned at Pre-Inquest Reviews. bShe also regularly makes submissions as to the applicability of Article 2 in the context of any given case.  She has the ability to look at the matter from both the perspective of the Interested Party and the Coroner.  This enables her to make submissions in the interests of the Interested Party whilst being able to advise with some certainty as to the approach which is likely to be taken by the Court.

  Rachel regularly represents families, doctors, nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals at Inquests, both where clinical negligence or personal injury proceedings are likely to follow and where there may be issues relating to the professional’s duty to report themselves to their regulatory body.  These inquests are frequently dominated by complex issues of fact and issues of law.  Rachel regularly makes submissions on appropriate conclusions.  She has frequently been successful in obtaining a rider of neglect in appropriate circumstances.

  Rachel also has experience of representing Local Authorities at Inquests where there are safeguarding issues and where the Court of Protection has been involved during the deceased’s lifetime.  This inevitably involves representing social workers throughout the process and understanding their role in the protection of the elderly and vulnerable in the community.

  Rachel also regularly represents families and other Interested Parties in circumstances where the deceased has died whilst being detained pursuant to the provisions of the Mental Health Act or where the deceased has agreed to receive treatment for their mental health as a voluntary patient.  Once more, this is likely to involve issues as to whether a jury is required and whether Article 2 is engaged, which is sometimes crucial for the purposes of obtaining funding for representation at the Inquest, at Pre-Inquest Review stage.  Such deaths often involve questions of causation, requiring careful questioning of the pathologist to the Inquest.

  Rachel also represents Interested Parties in cases where there is a notifiable accident or disease.  She also represents Interested Parties in road traffic accidents and has experience of seeing these cases from the point of view of an Assistant Coroner.

  Rachel is sensitive to the needs and wishes of the Interested Party.  She understands the balance that must be struck between appreciating the role of the coroner, and the questions that they must answer, whilst attempting to obtain answers to questions that the family may have surrounding the death of their loved one.  It is also important to ensure that the family understand the role of the coroner and the limitations in respect of the evidence in this forum.  However, she also appreciates the importance of ensuring effective representation in court for all Interested Parties and the importance of any evidence given in these proceedings and its use elsewhere.  She ensures that witnesses are as prepared as they can be and as comfortable as possible when giving their evidence.

  She is prepared to accept instructions on the basis of a conditional fee agreement in this jurisdiction, notwithstanding the possibility of costs argument which may follow.

• Personal Injury

  Rachel enjoys representing both claimants and defendants in all aspects of personal injury litigation.  She has a busy practice and provides quantum advices in a wide range of high value claims.

  She advises both claimants and defendants in respect of all aspects of liability from road traffic accidents to employer’s liability claims to claims brought against the local authority by reason of accidents which have occurred at school, on playing fields and on the highway.

  She has a particular interest in accidents which have occurred abroad and at sea and can advise in respect of any additional complications that this brings to the litigation.  Rachel also has considerable experience of dealing with cases involving issues of vicarious liability.

  Rachel routinely litigates claims worth in excess of £250,000.  She has considerable experience of accidents resulting in fatalities.  Recent cases include representing the Claimant in a road traffic accident resulting in the loss of a limb and representing the Defendant to an employers’ liability claim where the Claimant suffered a moderate brain injury.

  Rachel has considerable experience in drafting particulars of claim and defences in all types of personal injury litigation.  She frequently represents parties at CCMC’s dealing with both directions and costs budgets.  She has vast experience of representing all parties to the litigation at joint settlement meetings, mediations and at trial.

  She has considerable experience in dealing with liability experts, both in conference and by way of cross examination, and dealing with medical experts both in conference and challenging experts by way of Part 35 questions.

• Counter Fraud

  Rachel is very experienced in defending fraudulent claims, including but not exclusively, where allegations of fraud are made in road traffic accidents.  She has dealt with low velocity impact claims, exaggerated and fabricated claims, and those involving phantom passengers on behalf of defendants.

  Rachel also has considerable experience in representing claimants in such cases.  This invariably involves an early conference with the potential claimants in order to establish the strength of their evidence and to test it as vigorously as possible, as if they were in the witness box.  This is for the purposes of determining the merits of the Defendant’s allegations and to avoid the serious consequences facing claimants found to have brought a fraudulent claim, both in terms of costs and Contempt of Court Proceedings.

  She has acted for all parties at trial and at interim applications; including CCMC’s where the claim has been allocated to the Multi Track principally because of the allegations maintained on behalf of the Defendant.  She has considerable experience of drafting applications in fraudulent claims on behalf of both parties.  Applications that she has drafted include seeking permission to rely upon engineering evidence on behalf of defendants and disclosure of the Claimant’s medical records.  Rachel has also defended such applications when they have been brought against her client.

About

• Appointments

  • Assistant Coroner in Lincolnshire
  • Direct Access

• Professional Membership

  • Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA)
  • Personal Injuries Bar Association

• Qualifications

  • LLB, University of Birmingham