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Recent cases involved the failure to diagnose a hip infection rendering a hip replacement beyond repair so that C cannot walk without a frame, a failure to correctly diagnose hormone deficiencies in a female which resulted in her developing male patterned baldness and facial hair, a failure to prescribe eye drops resulting in an eye sight deficiency.

A specialist employment barrister with an industrial background.  One of the youngest retail operations managers for TM Retail with a responsibility for 17 shops and over 100 staff and chairing internal disciplinary hearings.

• Unfair dismissal
• Discrimination
• Maternity
• Redundancy
• Employment status
• Collective Agreement and Trade Union disputes
• Unlawful deduction from wages and holiday pay claims
• Harassment and victimisation
• Direct Access – from Respondents

NOTABLE CASES

TUPE: Reg. 11 disclosure obligations: I successfully represented a schools Academy in a claim against a local education authority for a failure to inform the Academy about unresolved equal pay claims at a school prior to the transfer of the school from the local authority to the Academy. 

KINGSTON UPON HULL CITY COUNCIL v (1) P SCHOFIELD (2) C MORRIS (3) J WEBSTER [2012] All ER (D) 342 (Nov) EAT

A complaint that an employer had wrongly evaluated an employee's job under a job evaluation scheme could not give rise to a claim for unlawful deductions from wages, since it was not a claim for a quantified or quantifiable sum

A v B & C - 4 week sex discrimination, sexual harassment and unfair dismissal case. Roger successfully represented the alleged perpetrator against whom all allegations were dismissed and in whose favour a maximum cost award was made. The case was reported in the local press. For more information click here.

Successfully brought an unfair dismissal claim on behalf of a pregnant ‘self-employed’ nurse

Roger had successfully defended a number of claims brought by disabled employees alleging a failure to make reasonable adjustments

Successfully defended a claim brought by 22 claimants in respect of breaches of a collective agreement

Successfully defended an unfair express dismissal claim. There were no witnesses at a meeting at which the Claimant either resigned or was dismissed. The tribunal found that the Claimant resigned.

LECTURES/SEMINARS

• Working time & NMWR issues for on-call workers
• Employment Status
• The Equality Act 2010
• The Agency Worker Regulations 2010
• The Rights of Agency Workers

Credit hire

Roger deals with high value credit hire claims for both Claimants and insurers, particularly with respect to taxi drivers and those who thought they were entitled to a courtesy car.

Motor Fraud

Multiple previous accidents, LVI, staged accidents

Head Injury

Roger is dealing with a number of subtle brain injury claims.

Inquests

Extensive experience of representing the families of the deceased victims of industrial accidents, those exposed to asbestos at work, those involved in road traffic accidents and the victims of medical negligence. Click here for a case featured in the press.

Road Traffic Accidents

High value credit hire claims for both the Claimants and Defendants.  Claims involving fraud allegations for both sides.

Disease

Roger has advised on a number of industrial deafness claims and specialises in those with limitation issues.

Public, Product and Occupiers' Liability

Recognised by Chambers & Partners for product liability.

Highways claims including issues over whether the highway is maintainable at the public expense.

Dog bite and horse riding cases.

Child supervision cases.

Vicarious liability for assaults by employees.

Employers' Liability

Considerable experience of warehouses, shops, logistics and the implementation and enforcement of health and safety policies from a previous career in retail area management.

As a specialist employment and personal injury barrister Roger is well placed to deal with the cross-over issues in EL cases particularly in relation to jurisdictional issues and compensation.

REPORTED CASES

JASMINE SPOWART V NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL (2006)

A judge was entitled to conclude that the supervision of young school children playing on a slide had been negligent and had led to a child falling and sustaining an injury.

Hodgkin v UK Insurance PLC 23/7/10 Lawtel AM0201614

General Damages of £3,450 was awarded for a whiplash injury which caused neck pain for 10 months and paraesthesia in the arm for a month. The Circuit Judge considered that the paraesthesia took the case outside of the JSB Guidelines.

Jasmine Spowart v Nottinghamshire County Council 11/09/06 Lawtel AC0111798

In circumstances where young children were playing chase in a school play area and overcrowding occurred at the top of a slide, a judge was entitled to find that it was not reasonable, having identified such a problem, simply to speak to children. The supervisor had to do more: either stand there and make sure that children go down the slide one by one or send them back down to go up the slide one at a time.

Bailey -v- Warren [2006] EWCA Civ 51; The Times, 20 February 2006

A leading case on the capacity of a brain damaged adult to compromise liability and the court's discretion to ex post facto validate an agreement with a patient.

Bentley v Howell Current Law Cases, Reference: 06/411 (27 April 2005)

Small claims case where Defendant obtained costs order against the Claimant on the grounds that Claimant had behaved unreasonably for the purposes of CPR Part 27. r27.14(2)(d). The Claimant failed to comply with an order to serve statements and documents and subsequently sought to discontinue 2 days before trial.

Halsey -v- Milton Keynes General NHS Trust; Steel -v- Joy and Another [2004] 1 WLR 3002

As a non-practising Pupil, Roger was heavily involved in this leading case on the cost consequences of refusing an invitation to mediate.

LECTURES/SEMINARS

• Animals Act
• The use of Experts
• Assessing Psychological Injuries
• Loss of Earnings: Pension Loss
• Assessing Care Claims

Roger is also prepared to discuss your training needs and to provide tailor-made seminars.