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Road Traffic 

Leila represents Claimants and Defendants at all stages of claims arising out of road traffic accidents and has specific experience in the following: 

• Low Velocity Impact
• Fraud, including staged accidents and phantom passengers;
• Patient Settlements following severe injuries.
• Credit Hire, in particular claims involving issues of enforceability of contracts; 

Holiday Claims 

Leila is instructed to advise on claims involving The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations and breach of contract. 

Public, Product and Occupiers’ Liability 

Leila represents Claimants and Defendants in cases brought pursuant to the Occupiers’ Liability Acts, the Consumer Protection Act, the Highways Act, the Defective Premises Act and the Animals Act. 

Noise Induced Hearing Loss 

Leila is instructed by Claimants and Defendants at all stages of litigation. She has experience conducting Costs and Case Management Conferences dealing with issues of limitation and medical evidence on breach of duty and causation. 

Catastrophic Injury 

Leila advises and drafts Schedules of Loss in cases with severe orthopaedic and psychological injuries and fatal injuries. 

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority 

Leila is regularly instructed by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority as presenting officer in their appeals. 

Case Examples 

-Led in the High Court case of Lovell v. Leeds City Council [2009] EWHC 1145 QB which involved a subrogated claim for a contribution following a settlement of £1,672,500 in which the Claimant was rendered paraplegic in a road traffic accident. 

-Led in an appeal to the Court of Appeal following a finding that the Claimant did not suffer pre-existing Undifferentiated Somatoform Disorder but suffered a Chronic Pain Disorder attributable to injuries sustained to his back in a road traffic accident. 

-Successfully obtained permission to resile from a pre-action admission of liability in a high value personal injury claim where no new evidence had been obtained. 

-Advising on liability and quantum on behalf of the estate of a young father who committed suicide as a voluntary patient.

Leila is ranked as a leading barrister in Legal 500 for Clinical Negligence.

Representing Claimants and Defendants, Leila is regularly instructed to:

• Advise on prospects
• Advise on quantum
• Conduct conferences with medical experts and clinicians
• Draft pleadings
• Attend JSMs and mediations
• Attend trials

Case Examples 

-Advised in conference with medical experts and clinicians in a claim arising out of local anaesthetic toxicity following elective circumcision surgery resulting in cardiac arrest and an induced coma.

-Attended PTR in a serious injury claim following a fatal RTA. D1 brought contribution proceedings against the NHS Trust for clinical negligence in relation to C's injuries sustained in the RTA. Advised on liability, drafted agenda for experts' joint meeting and attended remote settlement meeting. 

-Drafted proceedings and the Schedule of Loss in a claim arising out of negligent breast augmentation surgery in which liability was denied until proceedings were issued and served. 

-Advised on quantum and drafted the Schedule of Loss in a dependency claim arising out of a failure to make an urgent referral for treatment. 

-Advised on prospects and quantum after representing a family at an inquest in a claim arising out of the development of deep vein thrombosis following routine knee replacement surgery (60 year old man). Narrative conclusion at the inquest which found that there was a failure to provide anti-coagulant therapy which was causative. 

-Drafted proceedings in a claim involving negligent dental treatment when a dental instrument broke and a piece was left within the Claimant’s root canal which caused a chronic infection and required surgical extraction of the tooth.

-Advised on liability and quantum and drafted the Schedule of Loss in respect of claims arising out of baby's death shortly after birth due hypoxia in labour caused by  meconium aspiration syndrome. Claims on behalf of the estate and the mother and father as  primary and secondary victims.  Represented the family at inquest where the coroner concluded that there were failures in foetal monitoring and had national guidance been followed, an earlier delivery would have taken place. The Trust made an early breach of duty admission and settlement of all 3 claims was eventually achieved.

-Advised in conference with medical expert, drafted Particulars of Claim and Schedule of Loss in a claim arising out of a negligent surgical treatment where a colostomy was formed incorrectly requiring emergency surgery, additional procedures and causing the development of a hernia and fistula. Case settled following service of proceedings. 

Inquests

Ranked as a Band 1 leading barrister in Inquests and Inquiries by Legal 500, Leila is the Head of the Inquests Team at Parklane Plowden.

Leila has been appointed to the Attorney General's Counsel Panel A since 2010. 

Leila frequently conducts inquests arising out of medical treatment, road traffic accidents, accidents at work and industrial disease. She represents families, individuals and public bodies and frequently acts for interested persons in high proifle, media sensitive Article 2 jury inquests. Leila regularly appears on behalf of the HM Prison Service in inquests arising out of deaths in custody.

Leila gave her Presidential Lecture to the Leeds and District Medico-Legal Society from her extensive experience appearing in inquests entitled ’A Practical Guide to Inquests’. She also regularly gives training on the subject of inquests and Article 2.

Recent Inquest Examples

-Represented the family of a 15 year old girl that was killed during a joy riding journey in a vehicle driven by her 17 year old boyfriend. A conclusion of unlawful killing was secured. 

-Represented the family of a baby that died shortly after birth due to hypoxia in labour caused by meconium aspiration syndrome. The coroner found that there was a failure to provide foetal monitoring in accordance with national guidance and there should have been an earlier delivery, had the CTG been interpreted correctly.

-Represented the family of a 60 year old man who had sustained a head injury following an unwitnessed fall and a subsequent head injury after a second fall at hospital. A narrative conclusion was secured with findings that the hospital had failed to provide appropriate care.

-Represented the Prison Service in an Article 2 jury inquest arising out of a death in custody in which the deceased died from a rare medical condition which had been treated whilst in prison.  Conclusion that the prison and health authority had provided appropriate care to treat the condition. 

-Represented the Prison Service in an Article 2 death jury inquest arising out of a death in custody in which the deceased suddenly collapsed after being searched upon returning to the prison. Found that the death was due to natural causes and the prison officers had carried out skilful attempts to resuscitate.

-Represented a care home in an Article 2 jury inquest where the deceased, who was subject to a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding Order (DoLS), died from choking on food. Narrative conclusion was given and no Regulation 28 report to prevent future deaths.