Henry Slack

Areas of expertise

• Clinical negligence & personal injury
  • Clinical negligence

    Clinical negligence

    Henry has experience of a range of clinical negligence claims including failure to diagnose and/or refer, delays in and errors in treatment including in the A&E, by GPs and dentists. In addition to his clinical negligence practice Henry has acted in a number of cases involving alternative medical practitioners, including beauty therapists, laser treatment and chiropodists.

    Recent work

    • Claim involving failure of a hospital to diagnose and adequately treat an underlying heart condition which resulted in cardiac arrest and stroke.
    • Claims involving delay in diagnosing breast cancer.
    • Claim involving orthopaedic surgical negligence requiring removal of metalwork and resulting in permanent disability and altered gait.
    • Claims involving ophthalmic negligence such as inappropriate laser eye treatment leading to poor vision.
    • Claim for failure by an optometrist and General Practitioner to refer a patient with glaucoma.
    • A number of cases of dental negligence, including wrong tooth extraction, failure to diagnose periodontitis and failure of dental implants.
  • Disease

    Disease

    Henry regularly represents both claimants and defendants in claims arising from asbestos/mesothelioma.

    Relevant work

    • Representing a construction firm in relation to alleged exposure to asbestos dating back to 1951.
    • Representing Heals in respect of claims of asbestos exposure when fitting out ocean liners in the 1960s.
  • Fraud

    Fraud

    Henry has extensive experience representing defendants/defendant insurers in cases where fraud and/or fundamental dishonesty is suspected or alleged. He also acts in low velocity impact claims and claims where causation is at issue.

    Recent work

    • Successfully obtaining a declaration of avoidance on behalf of an insurer leading to the discontinuance of a number of claims in a suspected fraud ring.
    • Numerous successes at trial following cross examination in relation to cases relating to fundamental dishonesty.
  • Inquests & inquiries

    Inquests & inquiries

    Henry’s ability to put clients at ease and manage difficult situations with sensitivity has led to him being regularly instructed in both Article 2 and non-Article 2 inquests. He represents an array of interested persons including families, healthcare bodies and professionals, local authorities and companies He is also able to advise on the potential for civil and criminal proceedings following inquest verdicts.

    Relevant work

    • Represented an NHS trust who provided psychiatric assessment and medical sectioning bed for prisoners at Pentonville Prison. While awaiting provision of a bed the deceased hanged himself while detained on remand in the prison’s health care wing.
    • Article 2 inquest, lasting five weeks, into the death of two motorists who died after a collision on an icy road where there had been an earlier accident and Police had decided not to close the highway and/or request further gritting. Henry represented the Highway Authority.
    • Representing the family at a jury inquest into the death of a lift engineer who fell from height while working at a company premises.
    • Representing the family of a mentally disabled man who died after complications following emergency surgery.
    • Representing an interested party at the inquest into the death of a young woman with learning difficulties who had lived in local authority social housing and died due to necrotising fasciitis and other complicating health issues.
  • Personal injury

    Personal injury

    Henry is a leading personal injury specialist, dealing with all injury related claims including road traffic accidents, employer’s liability, occupier’s liability, travel claims, occupational disease and public liability. He is particularly adept at handling claims where fraud, exaggeration or dishonesty are suspected. Henry has experience in serious injury claims and those involving complicated causation issues.

    Henry is often instructed to advise at an early stage in proceedings in relation to prospects of success, evidence, tactics and procedure. He has an approachable and authoritative manner with clients and is often instructed for round-table settlement meetings and negotiating favourable compromises in claims.

  • Employers’ liability

    Employers’ liability

    Henry has acted in a wide range of claims arising out of accidents in the workplace including claims arising out of manual handling, work at height, defective work equipment and dangerous work premises and practices. He has extensive experience of claims involving vicarious liability of other employees. He also is instructed both to defend claims for EL insurers, and to bring and defend contribution proceedings and recovery actions arising out of EL claims. He assists with issues of coverage and policy interpretation.

    Relevant work

    • • Representing a factory worker who suffered serious crush and burn injuries to his hand when it was caught in a hot press machine without an adequate safety guard.
      • Representing a scaffolder who suffered a catastrophic shoulder injury when a pole was dropped on to him by a colleague. Negotiated a settlement in excess of £250,000.
  • Public liability

    Public liability

    Henry deals with all areas of public liability, including accidents on the highway and landlords’ liability cases. He has experience of accidents abroad and cases involving the Animals Act 1971. He also advises defendants and insurers on coverage and policy interpretation issues arising in this area.

    Relevant work

    • Representing Defendant in a claim where a pedestrian fell on a footway when running for a bus. The Claimant developed Somatoform disorder. Claim included extensive and complex medical evidence and complex issues as to indemnity/contribution between the Defendants.
    • Representing a leading tour operator in a claim involving food poisoning of a holidaymaker on a package holiday, which resulted in catastrophic kidney failure. Claim involved complex medical evidence, causation issues and indemnity/contribution issues between the tour operator and owners of the hotel where the claimant fell ill. The claim and counterclaim involved complex issues as to insurance coverage and the tour operator’s business structure and systems in reporting injuries suffered abroad.
    • Representing a highway authority in claim involving ice on a road which led to a fatal collision.
  • Occupiers’ liability

    Occupiers’ liability

    Henry has acted for claimants and defendants in cases involving a wide variety of injuries, including serious injury and death.

    Relevant work

    • Representing defendants in a claim pleaded in excess of £500,000 where the claimant had fallen on a loose step and fractured her ankle leading to complex regional pain syndrome. Claim involved complex medical and causation issues and settled for £169,000.
    • Representing a claimant who slipped on a wet floor at a wedding reception venue. The claimant suffered a serious fracture dislocation of the ankle and dislocated knee.
    • Numerous claims on behalf of a large supermarket involving slipping/tripping accidents at their premises.
  • Road traffic & Road traffic fraud

    Road traffic & Road traffic fraud

    Henry acts for both claimants and defendants. He is instructed in cases alleging fraud and/or fundamental dishonesty.

    Relevant work

    • Representing a defendant in a claim pleaded at over £900,000. The case turned on the issue of the defendant’s identity and successfully defended on basis he was not the driver at the time of the accident and had not consented to his car being used.
    • Representing the estate of an elderly bus passenger, killed when the bus he was travelling on braked sharply to avoid a car.
    • Representing a claimant who suffered serious leg and psychological injuries when her car was deliberately crashed into by the defendant in the act of committing suicide.
  • Health & safety law

    Health & safety law

    Henry is regularly instructed to represent companies facing Health and Safety Prosecutions and prosecutions under environmental law involving cases of pollution.

    Relevant work

    • Representing a major employer and its insurer in a claim brought by the Environment Agency relating to the contamination and pollution of a river in the Lake District.
    • Representing a kitchen manufacturer prosecuted following a serious neck and shoulder injury suffered by labourer when he fell during work at height within the company’s warehouse. Successfully kept case in Magistrates’ Court, with fine limited to £6,000 plus costs.
    • Defending a large food processing plant against a prosecution relating to the statutory allowance for discharge rate and volume of processed water into the public sewerage system. Successfully kept case in the Magistrates’ Court with fine limited to £10,000 plus costs.