Clinical Negligence, PI, Inquests & Inquiries Newsletter

Introduction

It feels a little late but as our first newsletter of the year we would like to wish you all a most excellent 2026. It has been a busy start for chambers and for our team and you will see what we have been up to already this year in our ‘what we have been up to’ section of this letter – a rich mix of injury, clinical negligence, inquest and inquiry work which reflects our breadth of expertise in these areas.

We hope you find the articles in this letter useful. Grab a cuppa and take 5 if you can. Within those articles our newest member of the team, Mark Erridge, highlights one of the first judgments of the year from the Court of Appeal in Smithstone v Tranmoor Primary School around liability only CPR Part 36 offers. Continuing on from earlier articles and cases she has been involved in; Jasmine Murphy revisits the issue of obvious risks following the decision in Lillystone v Bradgate Educational Partnership, a case reminding us that claims concerning accidents following obvious risks and hazards can be very challenging to win.

Emma Woods has authored an insightful article on Shaheen & Anor v Daish [2025], addressing the issue of omissions in medical records. We are delighted to welcome Emma back from parental leave and look forward to the return of Helena Drage in March.

Before I leave you to mull over the rest of this letter I wanted say a few words that I hope will resonate with us all as we return from our festive breaks to busy diaries. Those of us who practise in injury and related areas of work know that this area of law demands more than technical skill. It requires resilience, empathy, and a sustained willingness to engage with some of the most difficult moments in people’s lives. As I finish another sensitive and high profile inquest it is worth pausing to acknowledge just how exacting this work can be—both professionally and personally.

The cases we do rarely arrive neatly packaged. They involve harm, grief, trauma, unanswered questions, and clients who are often encountering the legal system for the first time at a point which may sometimes be associated with profound vulnerability. We listen carefully, explain patiently, and endeavour to maintain focus and clarity amid highly charged emotional circumstances.

Inquests, in particular, demand forensic attention to detail alongside sensitivity to families seeking understanding rather than adversarial victory. Injury litigation, meanwhile, often unfolds over years, requiring consistency, stamina, and an ability to balance realism with compassion as lives are rebuilt around lasting harm. All of this work can be intellectually rigorous and emotionally taxing in equal measure. It is therefore important that, as a profession, we recognise the skill and commitment it requires—and that we support one another, opponents included, in doing it well. Appreciating the challenges of injury and inquest practices is not self-indulgent; it is a necessary step in sustaining high standards of service and support and ensuring that those we represent receive the care, respect, and diligence they deserve. Here at Gatehouse Chambers through our practice team and barristers we are only an email or phone call away in respect of any support to all our valued clients as we navigate through these important and challenging areas of work.

Editor – Emma Zeb KC

News

We were thrilled to be named Client Service Set of the Year at the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2025.

This award recognises our continued growth and, most importantly, our commitment to delivering outstanding service to our clients and the wider industry. We are grateful for the trust, support, and feedback from our clients, highlighted in the latest Chambers UK Guide.

We also warmly congratulate Daniel Gatty, who was awarded Real Estate Junior of the Year, on his well-deserved achievement.

Activity report

Charles Bagot KC: 

• Represented NHS Wales in a strike out application where Claimants are, arguably, seeking to recast secondary victim claims as primary victim ‘involuntary participant’ claims to avoid the effect of the Supreme Court’s decision in Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (judgment awaited); 
• Has been advising in several catastrophic spinal injury claims for both Defendants and Claimants, both on strategy around form of award as well as the appropriate approach to quantum evidence and funding where there are issues of contributory negligence; 
• Dealt with a flurry of JSMs in a range of cases for both Claimants and Defendants, in complex brain injury, spinal injury and sensitive fatal accident claims;  
• Recorded a podcast (soon to be released!) with Janine Clark, Partner at Clyde & Co, Brisbane, discussing and comparing the approach to ADR, JSMs and mediation in England and Wales, compared to Queensland; 
• Charles (and Sara Ibrahim) eagerly await the judgment in the Privy Council appeal they deal with in the summer of 2025 concerned with when- and with what consequences- a Defendant can make a submission of no case to answer in a civil claim (here a mixed Personal Injury and Employment claim): Strachan v the Albany Resort. 

Emma Zeb KC:

• Working with clients on both the Nottingham and Manston inquiries; 
• Providing legal advice on confidential policy matters;
• Representing a private prison in a series of deaths following the use of synthetic cannabinoids and opioids in custody all pursuant to Article 2 and before juries;  
• Acted as Counsel to the Inquest in the case of Paul Wells – a homicide committed by one neighbour to another following contact with the police and other agencies. Heard before a jury;  
• Dealing with a number of other inquests following domestic homicide cases where potential multi-agency contact had been had with the deceased before their death;  
• A flurry of pre-Christmas JSMs for both Claimant and Defendantals meant settlement and finalisation of two large catastrophic injury cases for children.  Of particular interest one of the cases concerned injuries to a young boy with Down’s Syndrome, with difficult causation issues as to his trajectory and care needs but for his injuries;  
• At JSM settled another clinical negligence claim for damages against Bristol surgeon Tony Dixon in respect of his mesh surgeries and harm caused by the same; 
• Working on three new cases off-shore concerning personal injury and clinical negligence in the Caribbean; 
• In between all of this – trying to increase my press-up count from ‘zero’  to 10…5….1.

Jasmine Murphy has been busy pleading out defences to Montreal Convention claims, employers’ liability claims and claims arising out of injuries caused by animals her favourite subject. In one case she is defending a claim where a recently rehomed dog bit three members of the same family. In addition, along with Charles Bagot KC, Jasmine addressed an audience of insurers at DACb’s Complex Injury Conference on the subject of ADR. Jasmine was encouraging the audience to try Early Neutral Evaluation, a unicorn of the ADR world when it comes to personal injury – often mentioned but rarely seen in action. 

Jake Rowley has been particularly busy in the run up to Christmas and in January 2026 and has been:

• Representing Claimants and Defendants in a large number of PI trials and applications in the County Court; including defending and advancing allegations of dishonesty;
• Representing an interested person at a Pre-Inquest Review Hearing in relation to an Article 2 inquest;
• Acting (together with Emma Zeb KC and Mark Erridge) for a party involved in the Manston Inquiry (investigating the decisions, actions and circumstances leading to the conditions encountered by those detained at the Manston Short-Term Holding Facility);
• Advising a child claimant who sustained a brain injury in a RTA on various aspects of his claim; and
• Advising a child claimant on the prospects of success in a claim where the Defendant insurer is alleging the collision was a ‘low velocity impact’ and, in any event, the claimant was not a genuine occupant of the vehicle.

Emma Woods has been:

• Drafting several clinical negligence Defences, including for cases arising out of treatment for breast cancer, management of the risk of DVT and a Pulmonary Embolism and management of an ectopic pregnancy;
• Providing advice to a Claimant for a stress at work claim in the Cayman Islands;
• Prepared PoC for an employer’s liability claim.

Charlotte Wilk has been busy in the County Court and the High Court across a range of matters, including several cycling trials (both RTA and Highways Act matters), cases with a housing and personal injury crossover, and cases involving injuries sustained in custody. Charlotte recently acted for the Respondent in the Court of Appeal, drafting a statement of reasons (led by Laura Tweedy) in a matter concerning Article 6 ECHR and civil restraint orders. In her advisory practice, Charlotte has been working on several dental negligence matters.    

Mark Erridge: 

• Acting (led by Emma Zeb KC and Jake Rowley) for a party involved in the Manston Inquiry;
• Successfully obtaining strike out of a claim brought against the NHS based upon breach of statutory duty under the Equality Act and/or Human Rights Act;
• Drafting Particulars of Claim in a variety of personal injury claims;
• Representing the Defendant insurer in a personal injury Fast Track disposal hearing, and advancing allegations of dishonesty in connection with the Claimant’s injuries;
• Drafting a Defence to a mixed disrepair and personal injury claim brought against a social housing landlord;
• Acting for an Infant Claimant at an approval hearing where the injuries arose out of a bicycle collision.

Obvious risks: the beautiful game

Twenty-two years after the House of Lords in Tomlinson v Congleton Borough Council [2003] UKHL 47 warned litigants that a duty to protect against obvious risks only exists in very limited circumstances, there are still some cases that try to push the boundaries of that decision.  The recent decision of Mrs Justice Hill in Lillystone v Bradgate Educational Partnership [2025] EWHC 3341 (KB) is one of those, but it ultimately failed.

Article by Jasmine Murphy

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Shaheen & Anor v Daish [2025] EWHC 3056 (KB) – silence in medical records

The claim was brought by the wife and son of Mr Ajaz Ahmed, the Deceased, against Mr Ahmed’s GP. Mr Ahmed sadly died of lung cancer on 23 February 2023 at the age of 49.

The Claimants alleged that an opportunity to intervene and treat Mr Ahmed’s cancer was missed as a result of the negligence of his GP, Dr Daish, who saw the Claimant once at an appointment on 11 February 2019.

Article by Emma Woods

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Smithstone v Tranmoor Primary School [2026] EWCA Civ 13

On 16 January 2026, the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in the case of Smithstone v Tranmoor Primary School, a decision on costs recovery under CPR 36.17 when a party beats a liability-only Part 36 offer. The decision broadly spells the end of the road for arguments based upon the decision in Mundy v TUI UK Ltd [2023] EWHC 385 (Ch), in which Collins-Rice J noted that the application of CPR 36.17(1) was incompatible with liability-only Part 36 offers.

Article by Mark Erridge

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'2 minutes with' Adam Macdonald

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

I’ve been doing this job for just approaching 13 years now, which I appreciate isn’t as long as others, but it has still created some pretty memorable highlights.

Naturally, I think it is fair to say that seeing one of the Barristers you look after on a day-to-day basis taking Silk is always a highlight – there is so much work, from a whole range of people, that goes into that achievement and the sheer relief and joy it brings when someone is successful will never get boring.

Another highlight is that I’ve been very fortunate to work with a great group of people wherever I have worked – some have even become good friends – and that is so, so important (especially when I consider I often spend more time with these people than I do my own Fiancée!).

Then there are ‘little’ things too like knowing you have just done your job but it has made a big impact on so many people…

But I think the overall highlight has been the opportunities that my career has given me. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have been given opportunities to go to lovely places and meet great people… and I get paid to do it!

Random fact: Not many people know that…

I used to work in a kitchen restaurant whilst studying for my A-Levels and during the Uni holidays. We would have quite a few famous people come into the restaurant and I once made a dessert for an actor who played James Bond (I will keep the name anonymous for fear that he may seek revenge if he didn’t like it!).

What are the best/worst things about your job?

I think the best thing about the job is the unique environment that we work in. Unless you work in the legal sector or in Chambers, I don’t think you can fully understand it. It’s certainly not your average office job! I’ve already mentioned it but the people I work with are great too and that makes a big difference to the working environment. Finally, every day is different – I have no idea what may be coming across my desk when I am on my commute into work!

I’d probably say that the long hours that come with the job can be a bit of a slog. I have been late to several things over my career as something has cropped up and it needs dealing with – I am fortunate to have understanding family and friends!

What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given as a practice manager?

My first ever Practice Director, David Smith, once told me that this job is all about “trust”. Individuals are effectively trusting you to run their business for them so you need to build that trust with them. It is a two-way street as you need to know that you can trust your team of Barristers too. The trust between a Barrister and Practice Manager is the key to a successful working relationship. I’ve always remembered that and I would like to think it has served me well.

Contact us

If you would like to discuss any of the topics in this newsletter, please contact the team at steam@gatehouselaw.co.uk or get in touch with one of our Practice Managers below.

To find out more about our Clinical Negligence & Personal Injury Team and their work, visit the Clinical Negligence & Personal Injury page on our website. To view a copy of our privacy statement, please click here.

This edition of the PI & Clinical Negligence newsletter was edited by Emma Zeb KC. Comments or queries about this newsletter? Please get in touch with her.

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