Hall Of Fame

Hannah Clarke - Serious Injury Law Limited

Personal injury and clinical negligence: claimant in East Anglia

Ashtons Legal

Ashtons Legal has one of the largest injury services practices in East Anglia and clients remark on ‘a stellar group, committed, clever, dedicated and tenacious in their pursuit of the best realistic outcome for their clients’. The firm has an outstanding reputation in both clinical negligence and personal injury, thanks to the vast experience of its specialist teams. Richard Foyster in Ipswich leads on personal injury matters, while in Bury St Edmunds, Sharon Allison leads the medical negligence practice and Michael Wangermann, who ‘fights tooth and nail for the right result‘, is head of injury services. Also in Bury St Edmunds, Sandra Patton is a long-standing expert in clinical negligence, and senior associate Tom Ranson has ‘a clear and strategic mind‘. Senior associate Mick Upton is highly regarded for fatal accidents, brain injuries, spinal injuries and serious orthopaedic injuries, while the ‘clever, quick and diligentBen Ward in Norwich leads on catastrophic injury claims.

Responsables de la pratique:

Richard Foyster; Sharon Allison; Michael Wangermann


Autres avocats clés:

Ben Ward; Mick Upton; Julie Crossley; Tom Ranson; Sandra Patton


Les références

‘Michael Wangermann and Tom Ranson particularly stand out. Tom is fastidious, with a firm grasp of the detail of his case and a clear strategic mind. He is always on top of the evidence and masterful at negotiating with the defendants. Michael Wangermann is brilliant with clients. He always has their back and fights tooth and nail for the right result.’

‘The personal injury team at Ashtons legal is as good as any in the country. Led by Richard Foyster, I work for four members of that team in the highest value cases. They have excellent standards of client care. All papers and instructions are beautifully presented. They achieve first class outcomes for their clients.’

‘Tom Ranson is an extraordinary professional. I feel blessed for having encountered him. He can see where others are blind. His dedication to my case was life changing for me and my family and I will be forever grateful for his outstanding persistence to pursue and prove facts and gathering evidence with the right experts.’

Principaux dossiers


  • Acting on many cerebral palsy claims with varying degrees of severity. A number of these claims are currently valued in excess of £10m due to the requirement for permanent 24/7 care and potential longevity of the clients.
  • Representing a significant number of clients with acquired brain injury as a result of a range of incidents. Among the cases settling this year was that of a man who suffered catastrophic injury after being run over by a lorry; the case settled for £4.4m.
  • Advising many catastrophically injured clients, including a lady in her 50s who suffered a stroke as a result of thromboembolism despite attending A&E three days earlier with clear symptoms of thromboembolic disease. The claim is valued in excess of £5m.

Barr Ellison LLP

The catastrophic personal injury practice at Barr Ellison LLP in Cambridge has ‘a highly professional, very friendly and approachable team‘, and clients remark upon its ‘real deep speciality, especially in traumatic brain injury claims, with a great personal service‘. Working from offices in the city centre and at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, the team handles high-value injury claims and a growing amount of Court of Protection work. Practice head Emma Truin is ‘loved and trusted by clients, and shows great experience, skill, and compassion‘. Associates Mark Copley, who is ‘a very punchy litigator, willing to take on difficult cases‘, and Lucy Spraggons, who works on catastrophic brain, orthopaedic and spinal injury claims, are highly recommended.

Responsables de la pratique:

Emma Truin


Autres avocats clés:

Mark Copley; Lucy Spraggons


Les références

‘The personal injury team is excellent; real deep speciality, especially in traumatic brain injury claims, with a great personal service.’

‘Emma Truin: the team lead. Her clients love and trust her; great experience, skill, and compassion.’

‘Mark Copley is a very punchy litigator, willing to take on difficult cases.’

Irwin Mitchell

Irwin Mitchell has ‘one of the leading teams in the clinical negligence world‘ and is equally adept in personal injury claims. Its Cambridge office is a key hub in its wider network and clients remark that ‘the expertise, knowledge, resources, back-up and standing are unrivalled‘. Head of serious injury Ruth Booy, head of clinical negligence Guy Forster, armed forces claims specialist Simon Harrington, director of PI legal services Neil Whiteley and asbestos-related disease expert Rosemary Giles are all acknowledged as standout practitioners. Senior associates Samantha Shaw, Sarah WealleansJustina Molloy and ‘A1 performer‘ Gurpreet Lalli, and associates Sophie Bales and Alexander Davenport constitute a formidable team of up-and-coming talent.

Responsables de la pratique:

Neil Whiteley; Guy Forster; Ruth Booy; Rosemary Giles; Simon Harrington


Autres avocats clés:

Sophie Bales; Gurpreet Lalli; Sarah Wealleans; Alexandra Davenport; Justina Molloy; Samantha Shaw


Les références

‘One of the leading teams in the clinical negligence world.’

‘Gurpreet Lalli is very talented, a rising star of the clinical negligence world. Really pushes for her clients and supported by an excellent team at IM Cambridge.’

‘Quite simply, the ouststanding team to deal with high-value personal injury claims. The expertise, knowledge, resources, back-up and standing in the industry are unrivalled.’

Principaux dossiers


  • Acted for a soldier who suffered injuries in the course of his service. The defendant, the MOD, chose to allege that our client had been fundamentally dishonest in the presentation of his injury and that his case should be struck out. The firm vigorously contested this and the matter proceeded to trial. The Judge dismissed the defence and awarded significant damages to the client, reflecting his very real losses.
  • Acting for the wife of a successful project manager who sadly died as a result of a missed opportunity to diagnose and effectively treat his cancer. The NHS trust has now admitted fault and are likely to now compensate his widow for her loss.
  • Recovered damages for the wife of a factory worker who although never working with asbestos herself was likely exposed through her husband’s work clothing and contracted mesothelioma. Despite all the difficulties of proving this, the firm secured a settlement for her.

Slater and Gordon

The Cambridge office of national personal injury firm Slater and Gordon is home to experienced practitioners who have a high standing for their success in high-value and complex claims. Angela Beric, who is handling a £15m traumatic brain injury claim, is ‘a very experienced and competent litigator with much experience of claims of the utmost severity’. Richard Gaffney, who focuses on catastrophic injury claims, has ‘a strong commercial sense and a charming manner'. Paul Tapner, who is acting for a client who sustained a series of rugby injuries leading to a catastrophic brain injury, exhibits ‘sound judgment' and senior associate Crystal Eaton is ‘hugely committed to her clients’ cases‘.

Responsables de la pratique:

Madelene Holdsworth (Manchester)


Autres avocats clés:

Paul Tapner; Angela Beric; Richard Gaffney; Crystal Eaton; Manvendar Bhatti


Les références

‘Very strong team of personal injury practitioners who maintain an excellent caring ethos along with great skill and experience.’

‘Richard Gaffney is a partner with great experience of serious and complex personal injury claims, a strong commercial sense, and a charming manner. Angela Beric is another very experienced and competent litigator with much experience of claims of the utmost severity.’

‘The team undertakes high-value, complex work, across the range of serious and catastrophic injury.’

Principaux dossiers


  • Representing an individual who sustained a series of rugby injuries over the course of two months, which eventually led to a catastrophic brain injury on the pitch, in a highly complex claim on liability.
  • Representing an individual who sustained a severe traumatic brain injury, multiple fractures and lesions in a road traffic accident whilst travelling as a front seat passenger in a car driven by his father.
  • Representing an individual who sustained a severe traumatic brain injury, various skull fractures, rib and leg fractures as well as soft tissue injuries, as a result of an RTA.

Tees Law

Tees Law has ‘a very enthusiastic and committed team taking on difficult cases with significant success‘. Highly skilled in both clinical negligence and personal injury cases, the firm has a strong track record in securing high-value settlements. Practice head Janine Collier, who is ‘thoughtful, extremely knowledgeable and will always represent her clients' bests interests to the fullest‘, recently secured more than £5m plus a high-value annual payment from the NHS for a patient who developed tuberculosis meningitis. The ‘confident and competentTim Deeming is praised for his ‘amazing kindness and empathy‘. Consultant Vicki Seabrook has a stellar reputation for clinical negligence, and associate Sarah Stocker also plays a key role in the practice.

Responsables de la pratique:

Janine Collier


Autres avocats clés:

Tim Deeming; Sarah Stocker; Vicki Seabrook; Rachel Benton; Sophie Stuart


Les références

‘Excellently led and managed team with very high standards of case investigation and preparation.’

‘Janine Collier is hugely able and extremely hard-working – a perfect leader of the team as well as a fantastic litigator.’

‘Tim Deeming is deserving of mention: extremely responsive and capable litigator.’

Principaux dossiers


  • Achieved an eight-figure settlement for a child who suffered TB meningitis and an acquired brain injury as a result of a failure in the contact tracing system.
  • Achieved a seven-figure settlement for a lady who suffered chronic pain following a hernia mesh repair.
  • Achieved a seven-figure settlement for a gentleman who suffered a delay in monitoring renal function resulting in the need for transplantation on at least two occasions over his lifetime.

CFG Law

CFG Law specialises in serious and catastrophic injury claims and its Bury St Edmunds office, which opened in 2021, is a key hub in its network. Newly promoted partner Siobhan Thacker, who has ‘an exceptional work ethic and is a superb judge of the merits of a case‘, leads the team. Thacker recently secured £6.5m in compensation for a spinal cord injured client who was injured in a motorbike collision. The firm is ‘excellent with client care, proactive in case management and shrewd in negotiation‘. Founding partner Hannah Clarke left to become a consultant at Serious Injury Law Limited.

Responsables de la pratique:

Siobhan Thacker


Les références

‘Excellent with client care. Proactive in case management. Shrewd in negotiation.’

‘Siobhan Thacker – Exceptional work ethic. Entirely client focused. A superb judge of the merits of a case. Thorough in preparation and robust in presentation of the case. A delight to work with.’

‘With CFG I felt like part of a family, I could speak openly to them about anything personal and I knew they always had my best interests at heart.’

Principaux dossiers


  • Secured £6.5m compensation for a spinal cord injured client who was injured in a motorbike collision, when another motorbike rider crashed into the back of him.
  • Over £3m compensation for a client who sustained a traumatic brain injury in a passenger road traffic collision, when the driver of the car lost control and hit a tree.
  • Secured £1m for a client who sustained severe orthopaedic injuries in a road traffic collision, where their car was shunted off the road into a ditch.

Ellisons Solicitors

The injury services practice in the Ipswich office of Ellisons Solicitors has expanded beyond its traditional ground of personal injury to incorporate a growing volume of clinical negligence work, thanks to the recent arrival of solicitor Mark Stafford-White from Ashtons Legal; ‘he is excellent at getting into the details of a case and seeing problems before they arise‘, remarks a client. Practice head Stevan Stratton , who is ‘a class act- tenacious with opponents and kind and caring with clients‘, and ‘compassionate yet ruthless‘, and senior associate Bernice Spurgeon remain focused on workplace accidents, road traffic accidents, accidents in public places, and cases of employer’s and public liability.

Responsables de la pratique:

Stevan Stratton 


Autres avocats clés:

Bernice Spurgeon; Mark Stafford-White


Les références

‘Mark Stafford White – I have worked with Mark for a number of years. He is a real talent. He is excellent at getting into the details of a case and seeing problems before they arise. He has a good analytical and tactical mind and is excellent at client care.’

‘Stevan Stratton, the new partner of the PI Department, has worked hard since being recruited by Ellisons to modernise working practices so that the team is more agile and responsive to the needs of clients and the demands of practice in 2023. He takes an innovative and positive approach to running the department.’

‘Stevan Stratton, Partner and Head of Personal Injury is a class act: knowledgeable, tenacious with opponents and kind and caring with clients. If you have been injured, and you are thinking of bringing a claim, you are in safe hands with him.’

Fosters

The PI, group actions, medical negligence and inquests practice at Fosters in Norwich is ‘personable, sensible, realistic and easy to contact‘. Stephen Green leads the PI group and newly promoted partner David Gabell leads the claimant medical negligence practice. Gabell, who is ‘very strong in his technical knowledge but also understands the commercial side of law‘, secured £900k for a man who suffered severe loss of vision following negligent management of glaucoma. Green, who has been an Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) accredited senior litigator for over 15 years, secured £330k for a woman who was attacked by her partner.

Responsables de la pratique:

Stephen Green; David Gabell


Autres avocats clés:

Nimisha Bhayani; Jenny Fraser; Chris Turner; Lynn Satchell; Anne Saunderson


Les références

‘Stephen Green of the PI Department runs some of the smoothest personal injury files that we see in the market.’

‘David Gabell is responsible for setting up and growing the clinical negligence department. David is very strong in his technical knowledge, but also understands the commercial side of law.’

‘Excellent team, good spread of experience and timely responses.’

Principaux dossiers


  • Recovered £230k for a woman, the front seat passenger in a vehicle driven by her husband, who suffered an epileptic seizure whilst on a busy dual carriageway, causing him to collide with the central reservation. Our client sustained serious orthopaedic injuries as a consequence.
  • Settled an ophthalmology case for £900k for a client who suffered considerable visual loss following negligent treatment for glaucoma.
  • Acting for a client who suffered from prominent freckles and had Intense Pulse Light (IPL) therapy at a specialist clinic in an effort to “fade” her freckles. The client was left with significant burns to her face and neck. Expert evidence said a further patch test should have been performed and/or that the incorrect setting was used for the treatment.

Gotelee Solicitors

Gotelee Solicitors in Ipswich has ‘an experienced, joined up group of litigators, who have their clients as their focus‘ remarks one client, adding that ‘their main strengths are client empathy, support and excellent litigation ability‘. The firm’s PI practice handles both complex and fast-track cases, while the clinical negligence team focuses on high-value claims against the NHS, GPs and the private healthcare sector.  The ‘determined and committedTim Humpage leads the injury department, while Diana Infanti, who ‘leaves nothing unexamined and has a command of detail‘, is the main partner for clinical negligence. Newly promoted partner Sian Mullane is ‘a calm, collected and intrinsically instinctive litigator with an excellent client manner‘.

Responsables de la pratique:

Timothy Humpage


Autres avocats clés:

Diana Infanti; Sian Mullane; Tijana Bencedic


Les références

‘I have worked with this team for many years. They are a small and perfectly formed team.’

‘They provide a very personal and specialist service. For a small team they get a good proportion of high-value, complex work, and they work incredibly hard to achieve the best outcomes for their clients. Their success rate is very high.’

‘ I have worked with Diana Infanti for over a decade and have personally recommended her to would be claimants. She is very hardworking, sensitive to the client’s needs and the reality of litigation.’

Hatch Brenner LLP

Hatch Brenner LLP in Norwich has ‘a dedicated team able to handle the most complex clinical negligence claims, using significant experience which is deployed to good effect‘. Sara Westwood leads the dispute resolution group, which is frequently involved in both clinical negligence and personal injury matters. She has ‘superb instinct and will not leave any stone unturned for her clients‘, and she recently secured a £250k settlement for a client who died after operations for pancreatitis were repeatedly delayed. Managing partner Colin Cook also plays a key role in brain injury, accident claims and medical negligence matters.

Responsables de la pratique:

Sara Westwood


Autres avocats clés:

Colin Cook


Les références

‘The team I dealt with, were kind, caring, efficient, approachable and very knowledgeable.’

‘They explained every step clearly. I could call and ask questions and was not made to feel like I was wasting their time. Nothing was too much trouble.’

‘Sara Westwood was amazing. Kind, caring and compassionate regarding our situation. She explained everything in detail.’

Principaux dossiers


  • Represented the family of a man who died following an accident at work. Whilst servicing pipes, he was fatally injured in an explosion caused by remnants of the gas Toulene. An inquest into the death returned the conclusion of ‘accidental death’. The firm settled the case for £360k.
  • Represented the family of a client who died following complications from pancreatitis which were worsened due to multiple cancellations of appointments and operations. Claims were brought on behalf of the family. The firm settled the claim in the sum of £250k.
  • Secured over £36k for a client who suffered injuries and breathing difficulties following multiple botched rhinoplasty surgeries from a private surgeon.

Fraser Dawbarns

Fraser Dawbarns in Wisbech is known for ‘great communication, clear explanations and outstanding results‘. Key partner Neil John is ‘very experienced, very calm, and very successful at bringing claims to a satisfactory conclusion‘. One barrister remarks that ‘he is exactly the kind of solicitor I would want to have in my corner‘. He recently secured £250k for a teenage girl who suffered serious injuries including a fractured skull when she was hit by a car while crossing the road.

Responsables de la pratique:

Neil John


Les références

‘They are available and respond to any requirements promptly and professionally.’

‘Although direct contact is easily available most of the transfer of instructions and associated materials is electronic. This allows convenient scrutiny of information when preparing cases. Any additional requirements are also responded to promptly.’

‘Financial and billing arrangements are straightforward and direct and responded to in a timely manner.’

Principaux dossiers


  • Advised on a £250k settlement for a 15-year-old girl who suffered serious injuries including a fractured skull when she was hit by a car while crossing the road.
  • Acted for a man in his 20s, who was hit by a car; he appeared to have only minor physical symptoms but shortly afterwards suffered heart failure which resulted in the need for a heart transplant. We obtained a cardiologist report confirming that being hit by a car was a contributing factor to, but not the actual cause of, his heart failure and obtained a settlement of £110k.
  • Handling a range of workplace injury claims, including most recently obtaining a settlement of £40k for a factory worker who was required to work in a way that did not include adaption for a pre-existing back injury, aggravating the injury and resulting in a need for surgery.

Moons Solicitors

Moons Solicitors in Peterborough, founded in 2020, is a growing force in claimant personal injury work, and it is known for its ‘professionalism, quality, service and prompt responses‘. Clients praise founder Richard Moon and litigation executive Tamon Pearmain for their ‘personalised service, professionalism and honesty‘. Moon handles the full range of injury claims, but has niche expertise in the area of psychological injury. He recently settled a six-figure fatal accident claim in which a workman fell from a height, where liability was disputed throughout.

Responsables de la pratique:

Richard Moon


Autres avocats clés:

Tamon Pearmain


Les références

‘Tamon Pearmain and Richard Moon were very professional and had exceptional communication skills.’

‘I contacted Richard Moon solicitors as I had lost faith in my solicitors, and it was like night and day from the first consultation via Zoom. Richard explained how they would like to progress the case, which I was happy with.’

‘The communication was effortless from my perspective, as it was obvious they had taken care in assessing the case. In addition, there was no stress, which was a stark contrast to what I was used to when dealing with at a previous firm.’

Principaux dossiers


  • Reached a six-figure settlement in a claim for brain injuries and severe orthopaedic injuries, in which the insurers had argued they should pay nothing because of insurance indemnity issues.
  • Settled a six-figure fatal accident claim where a workman fell from a height, where liability was disputed throughout.
  • Representing a claimant who fell from height at a construction site, suffering brain injuries and severe orthopaedic injuries, where liability is disputed and where there is an uninsured defendant and an issue of whether the owner of the premises took on responsibility for the safety of the site.

Prettys Solicitors LLP

Prettys Solicitors LLP in Ipswich joins the ranking having built up a track record of success in increasingly high-value personal injury claims. The firm continues to build a strong presence across Suffolk and clients note that practice head and senior associate Louise Plant is ‘a brilliant tactician‘. The firm ‘offers the service of a major national firm whilst staying true to its local roots‘, says another client. Her work includes Animals Act matters and road traffic accidents.

Responsables de la pratique:

Louise Plant


Les références

‘The team is anchored by Louise Plant, an immensely knowledgeable and experienced personal injury practitioner.’

‘Prettys is able to offer the service of a major national firm whilst staying true to its local roots.’

‘The firm is deeply embedded in the towns and villages of Suffolk and is a major part of its local community.’