Personal Injury

Matthew is a civil practitioner specialising in Personal Injury Law covering all aspects of practice and procedure. He is instructed in equal measure by both Claimants and Defendants. Regular instructions are received for claims in Road Traffic Accidents, Public Liability and Industrial Injury claims in both the Fast Track and Multi-Track.

In relation to Industrial Injury, he has concentrated his practice on accident claims but he has also dealt with stress/bullying claims as well as industrial disease (particularly deafness and upper limb disorders).

Matthew is also regularly instructed in Public and Employer Liability Claims for Local Authorities (especially Salford City Council, Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council and Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council) and has conducted a large number of defences of "tripping claims".

Instructions are also regularly received in respect of claims involving Care Workers who have been injured whilst looking after clients.

More recently he has been instructed in cases concerning abuse of children whilst in Foster Care and the Civil Claims that arise there from.

Matthew also has experience of dealing with Education Claims and has High Court experience of conducting the defence of a failing to educate claim.

Matthew has an interest and developing practice in Air Law and Holiday claims. Matthew is familiar with the workings of the Warsaw and Montreal Conventions, the Delayed Boarding Rights Regulations and is fully conversant with the Package Travel Regulations 1992. This is an increasingly litigated field of law and Matthew is well placed to assist clients in this area.

In addition Matthew has also conducted CICA work at the highest level.

Matthew also deals with Fatal Accident claims and lectures on the subject every year at the Manchester Metropolitan University.

In a separate development and in order to increase his versatility to his clients, he has become a Full member of the Standing Conference of Mediation Advocates, thus being able to provide both adversarial and alternative dispute resolution advocacy skills for his clients.

Finally, Matthew prides himself on being able to provide a prompt service in respect of the return of paperwork.

Reported/Important Cases

Shoreman v New Charter Housing and Tameside MBC [Unreported Manchester County Court Recorder Berkley QC 20TH to 21ST September 2011. Use of Facebook entries to undermine credibility of the Claimant]

Williams v Salford City Council [Unreported, Manchester High Court, Swift J 13th to 16 June 2006. Case involving the alleged failure to recognise a school child's dyslexia]

Re: James, James and James CICA [Unreported, 18th to 19th December 2002 - Case involving the sexual abuse of 3 brothers. Total of £750,000 awarded by the Appeal Panel]

Gardner v United Counties Omnibus Co. Limited [1996] CLY 4477 (Extracted in Bingham & Berrymans' Motor Claims Cases) [Whether duty on bus driver to ensure passengers were sitting properly]

Membership

Personal Injury Bar Association (PIBA)

Standing Conference of Mediation Advocates (SCMA)

Travel Law