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Ben Compton

Called to bar 1979
Lincoln's Inn and Middle Temple;
2002 Bar of the Eastern Caribbean

Recorder since 2004

Clerk Stephen Somerville Tel: 020 7353 6381
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Having started professional life in a commercial law environment (at Fountain Court with Lord Falconer of Thorodon), concentration on serious crime and insurer's personal injury work followed before turning to a specialism in health and safety and regulatory work including complex fraud MTIC carousels offences.   Extensive experience as an advocate before juries and judges in appellate courts in England and overseas, and in the Administrative, Queens Bench and Chancery Divisions of the High Court. Throughout the last decade practice has involved inquests, inquiries and other niche area work allied to the main two disciplines.

This has involved work as diverse as acting for an employee of Sir Richard Branson in the British Virgin Islands culminating in a successful appeal to the Privy Council.

A trial lawyer for over twenty five years who has been instructed in the majority of the major disaster cases including the Lyme Bay canoeing tragedy, the Pescado, the Copthorne legionella case, Potters Bar, Tebay and the Hednesford  rail crashes. In 2008 he appeared in the House of Lords in Chargot; widely viewed as the most important case on health and safety in the last decade. This year he has also appeared in the Court of Appeal defending in R v Electric Gate Services Ltd which has further clarified Lord Hope's judgment in Chargot, as to the extent to which a prosecution have to identify specific breaches as part of their prima facie case. Other major cases include the Wembley Stadium work fatality. He is currently instructed in a number of major investigations on behalf of the defence, including the Atherstone -on-Stour tragedy where four fire fighters were killed.

A particular interest in General Medical Council and General Dental Council disciplinary work, acting for healthcare professionals, with overlapping inquests and criminal matters across the full range of criminal charges.

Ben Compton is a member of HSLA and UKELA.

Areas of practice
Health and Safety, Fraud & Extradition, Personal Injury, Discipline & Regulatory, Public Access

What the directories say
A specialist health and safety lawyer. Recommended in Chambers and Partners as an individual with "exceptional judgement who has the ability to read the mood of the court better than most barristers." He has attracted a number of positive reviews after a successful year, during which he appeared in both the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords, and acted in a number of gross negligence cases.