The Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence group of Field Fisher
Waterhouse LLP has received top rankings for its
Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence work in
the leading client law guide, Chambers 2008.
The firm has been ranked in the top tier of Chambers 2008, for
the categories of Personal Injury, Clinical Negligence and Personal
Injury: Industrial Disease.
Field Fisher Waterhouse has worked on a number of
high-profile personal injury and clinical negligence cases over the last year which
are reflected in the rankings.
Chambers & Partners
is an internationally regarded law guide which ranks law firms
according to specialist areas. Industrial disease is a new
subcategory within personal injury featuring in Chambers 2008.
For the categories of Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence,
Chambers 2008 says:
Personal Injury
'This “top-quality outfit” consists of “real professionals”
who “know exactly what they are doing,” clients report. The
personal injury team boasts a depth of understanding that belies
its size and a caseload that ranges from road traffic and transport accident claims to
brain and spinal
injury matters. It is best known, however, for its work in the
industrial disease arena where it
regularly undertakes high-profile cases. These include acting for
the claimants in the pleural plaques proceedings. Rodney Nelson-Jones heads the
department. He garners praise as “one of the best litigators
around” and is admired for his “fantastic client care.” He
specialises in industrial disease issues,
although he is developing a reputation in the context of air crash claims. Peter Williams, an authority on
asbestos and fatal
accident suits, “excels at unravelling knotty legal problems,”
clients observe.'
Clinical Negligence
'Market sources deem this City-based outfit “a first-class
firm at the top of the tree for clinical
negligence work.” The team may be small, but the strength and
talent of its solicitors warrants its inclusion in the top tier.
The group focuses on high-value complex cases and can often be
found handling obstetric-related work: for example, in 2006 the
team achieved a £3.5 million settlement for a child suffering
cerebral palsy after the misuse of a drug during labour. The firm
represents clients across the UK and is developing a presence in
the international marketplace, where it recently took on a case for
a Hong Kong resident. Heading the department is the
“superlative” Paul
McNeil, who is endorsed by sources as being both
“incredibly tenacious” and “formidable - he has a good tactical
sense of cases and understands the strengths and weaknesses
involved.” McNeil is a long-established force in the field and an
active member of several key panels and organisations, including
Action against Medical Accidents
(AvMA) and The Royal Society of Medicine.'