Gerard McDermott QC

Called to bar 1978
Date of Silk 1999

Clerk Graham Woods Tel: 020 7353 6381
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Gerard McDermott QC practises from England. He is based in London and Manchester, with associated offices in Abu Dhabi and New York. His main areas of practice are Personal Injury and Employment Law at all levels, although he maintains a diverse practice across the Common Law and Commercial fields.

Gerard was called as a Barrister in England and Wales in 1978 and was made Queen's Counsel in 1999. He has been admitted as Attorney-at-Law in New York for nearly 20 years.

Gerard acts for both Claimants and Defendants. He represents clients with a whole range of injuries arising from medical malpractice, product defects or road traffic accidents. Much of his caseload involves catastrophic personal injury such as spinal cord injury or brain injury.

He has a very busy trial practice across the United Kingdom, generally in the High Court, as well as reaching impressive out of court settlements through negotiation. An increasing number of his cases have a cross border element to them, with particular emphasis on US issues, but also with cases that have involved Europe and the Middle East.

Gerard also has experience in Inquests and Inquiries having recently (October 2009) represented an RAF Pilot during the Inquest into a 2007 Puma crash and having been Lead Counsel for the Health Authority in the high profile Inquiry into the numerous deaths of patients under the care of Dr Harold Shipman.

Chambers and Partners UK 2010, states, "hugely respected, Gerard McDermott QC is "extraordinarily good at catastrophic brain injury cases." Interviewees were particularly effusive in describing him, applauding his "attention to detail and excellent judgement.""

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Gerard is a former President of the American Counsel Association, former Leader of the European Circuit of the Bar and a long time active member of the American Bar Association and in particular the Section of Litigation.

He sits as a Recorder (a part time Judge) of the Crown Court and is authorised to sit as a Deputy High Court Judge in the Queen's Bench Division.

Gerard is frequently invited to lecture on his areas of specialism, both in the UK and abroad. Most recently he has travelled overseas to give talks to the International Association of Defense Counsel on Civil Litigation Costs in the UK in Paris in September 2009 and to the European Circuit of the Bar on the new European regulation, Rome II, in Warsaw in October 2009.

Practice areas
Employment & Discrimination, Clinical & Professional Negligence, Personal Injury, Health & Safety, Public Inquiries

Additional qualifications
Attorney-at-law (New York)

Memberships and offices
Deputy High Court Judge
Recorder
Leader, European Circuit of the Bar
Director and Past President, American Counsel Association
American Bar Association
International Association of Defense Counsel
Bar European Group
Personal Injuries Bar Association

Notable cases

Th e Shipman Inquiry
Farraj v King's Healthcare Trust [2008] EWHC 1228 (QB) - wrongful birth, economic loss, third party laboratory's liability for DNA sample
Allen v Burne [2007] EWCH 1639 (QB) - application of Bolitho rider to Bolam test
R v Pennine Acute NHS Trust [2003] EWCA Crim 3436 - health and safety, transfer of criminal liability