Eliot Woolf KC

Year of Call:
1993
Year of Silk:
2018
Direct Access:
No

Eliot Woolf KC specialises exclusively in the fields of Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury (domestic and international). His Clinical Negligence practice is wide ranging, representing both claimants and defendants. His Personal Injury work has a focus on catastrophic brain and spinal injury claims, military claims and foreign accident / group illness claims.

He is regularly ranked as a Leading Individual in each of his practice areas in both The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners.

Eliot is a Head of Chambers (Deputy Head of the Health Team).

Expertise

Eliot’s Clinical Negligence practice covers most areas of clinical practice, acting on behalf of Claimants and the NHSR. His cases are of high value and complexity, with capitalised values often exceeding £10m. He has appeared in contested trials in the fields of spinal surgery, haematology, accident and emergency medicine, cardiology, general surgery, vascular surgery, orthopaedic surgery and ophthalmology.

Notable Clinical Negligence cases


Meadows v Khan [2021] UKSC 21

Eliot appeared on behalf of the Claimant with Philip Havers QC as this case worked its way up to the Supreme Court. They succeeded at first instance in establishing that the scope of the duty of care in a wrongful birth claim included not only the child’s haemophilia (for which advice had been sought prior to the pregnancy) but also his autism which was unrelated to the haemophilia but arose as a natural consequence of the pregnancy. That decision was reversed by the Court of Appeal. In its landmark decision dismissing the Claimant’s appeal, the Supreme Court brought the test for determining the scope of the duty in a clinical negligence claim firmly into line with commercial cases about pure economic loss.

Jaciubek v (1) Gulati (2) Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust [2016] EWHC 269 (QB)

Successful defence at trial of a claim on behalf of a Trust concerning an alleged failure to diagnose a subarachnoid haemorrhage at the Trust’s A & E Department.

Crammond v Medway NHS Foundation Trust [2015] EWHC 3540 (QB)

Succeeded at trial acting on behalf of the Claimant, concerning negligent referral from A & E to a Same Day Treatment Centre.

Sumner v Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust & Anr [2015] EWHC 293 (QB)

With Christopher Wilson-Smith QC. Successfully established liability and quantum on behalf of behalf of a Claimant who was inappropriately mobilised with spinal injuries.

Michael v Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust [2014] EWHC

Successfully defended a claim at trial on behalf of the Trust concerning allegedly negligently performed cholesystectomy and anastomotic repair of the bowel.

Eliot’s Personal Injury practice covers all areas in this field, with a particular emphasis on RTA related catastrophic brain and spinal injury claims, accidents at work, military claims and disease work.

Notable Personal Injury cases


Acting for the Claimant following RTA

Acting with Ben Bradley for a Claimant catastrophically brain damaged in a road traffic accident. Compromised for the equivalent of £16m on an 87.5% basis in his favour.

Acting for the Claimant following RTA

Acting for a Claimant brain damaged in a road traffic accident, resulting in the loss of a career as a yacht engineer. Compromised for the equivalent of £5.8m.

Acting for a Claimant against the Ministry of Defence

Following a negligent intubation during an evacuation by helicopter in Afghanistan. Claimant left in a minimally conscious state with reduced life expectancy. Settled for the equivalent of £5.1m.

Humphrey v Aegis Defence Services Ltd [2014] EWHC 989 (QB)

Acting on behalf of the Claimant at first instance and with Robert Weir QC in the Court of Appeal. Accident sustained by security contractor taking part in a training exercises in Iraq.

Acting for Claimant against the Ministry of Defence

Explosives negligently detonated during a training exercise, resulting in blindness and amputation of one arm. Settled for equivalent of £5.58m on a capitalised basis

Stoddart v Percucca [2011] EWCA Civ 290

Acting for a child Claimant knocked down on her horse. Succeeded at trial and in the Court of Appeal.

Eliot has a longstanding travel law practice, with particular emphasis on group actions involving widespread gastric illness outbreaks or multi-party road traffic accidents abroad.

He appeared for the successful Claimant in Kempson v First Choice Holidays, establishing the basis for strict liability in salmonella claims. Other examples are the first contested trial involving a cryptosporidium outbreak (Eldridge & Others v TUI UK Ltd) and a coach crash in Morcocco resulting in catastrophic injuries to multiple Claimants.

Notable Travel Law cases


Acting for Claimant following an RTA in New Zealand

Below knee amputation. Settled £1.8m.

Acting for Claimant injured in an accident at work in Nicaragua

Settled at JSM.

Briggs & 598 Others v First Choice Holidays & Others

Acting for 599 Claimants following a large scale outbreak of illness at a hotel in Turkey.

Acting for a Claimant whose baby died as a result of food poisoning in Egypt

Settled for seven figure sum [2017].

Acting for 11 year old girl contracting e-coli 0157 infection on holiday in Turkey

Resulting in kidney failure and the need for a renal transplant. Life expectancy significantly reduced. Provisional damages.

Acting for 6 Claimants following a coach crash in Morocco

One paraplegic. Settled to full value of Defendant’s limited insurance cover plus additional payments.

Acting for a paraplegic Claimant following an RTA in Greece

Compromised for the full value of the Defendant’s limited insurance cover.

Eldridge & Others v TUI UK Ltd

Acting for Claimants with David Allan QC. First successful trial involving an outbreak of cryptosporidium in a swimming pool in Majorca. Application of Balearic Regulations. Judgment for Claimants.

Related updates

Eliot Woolf KC is regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and holds a current practising certificate. If you are not satisfied with the service provided, please click here.

“Eliot is brilliant and great with clients. He is very knowledgeable. He is a pleasure to work with.”

Hasina Choudhury, TSP Legal, 2023

"Eliot is very reassuring, has a great grasp of the technical area and is a great advocate."; "He is a wonderful advocate who puts clients at ease, and he's also strategic and tactical."

Travel: International Personal Injury, Chambers & Partners 2024

"Eliot is meticulous in his preparation, and his advice is incredibly sensible."; "Eliot is an accomplished, personable, knowledgeable advocate."; "He is very diligent and can spot big issues."

Personal Injury, Chambers & Partners 2024

"He is highly adept at dealing with complex matters."; "Eliot is an excellent advocate who is great with clients and families."; "He's got that additional gravitas and he's very poised and very unflappable."

Clinical Negligence, Chambers & Partners 2024

‘Eliot is a star. His eye for detail is second-to-none, his responsiveness also second-to-none and an excellent way with clients.’

Personal Injury, Legal 500, 2024

‘Razor sharp intellect and a wonderful style with clients. A fantastic litigator.'

Clinical Negligence, Legal 500, 2024

“Eliot is brilliant with clients and is a great advocate.”

Travel: International Personal Injury, Chambers and Partners 2023

“He provides practical and sound advice.”

Travel: International Personal Injury, Chambers and Partners 2023

“Eliot has excellent client care skills.”

“He is an exceptional advocate.”

Clinical Negligence, Chambers and Partners 2023

“Eliot is collegiate, great with clients, very hard-working and highly experienced.”

Clinical Negligence, Chambers and Partners 2023

“Eliot is superb - calm, assured and intelligent beyond belief.”

Personal Injury, Chambers and Partners 2023

“Eliot has strong ability to communicate with clients and experts.”

Personal Injury, Chambers and Partners 2023

“He has a collaborative approach.”

Personal Injury, Chambers and Partners 2023

“He is empathetic, approachable and great at extracting the important issues in a complex case.”

Clinical Negligence, Chambers and Partners 2023

“Eliot is very approachable and always responds in a timely fashion.”

Travel: International Personal Injury, Chambers and Partners 2023

“His advice is presented in a very clear manner.”

Travel: International Personal Injury, Chambers and Partners 2023

"Eliot has great attention to detail. He is very thorough and, when asked multiple questions on a document or an issue, makes sure to answer them all and in detail. He also thinks of innovative ways to approach an issue."

Travel Law, Legal 500 2023

"Eliot is kind, thoughtful, carefully considered before clients and highly respected in discussions with opponents."

Personal Injury, Industrial Disease and Insurance Fraud, Legal 500 2023

"A go-to KC; very compassionate and great with clients and in negotiations – a team-worker."

Clinical Negligence, Legal 500 2023

"He is fiercely clever and applies that intellect to his cases." "He is absolutely super with clients and a wonderful advocate."

Travel, Chambers and Partners 2022

"Eliot has a really good manner with clients, excellent attention to detail and an encyclopedic medical knowledge. He's incredibly responsive and works well as part of a team."

Travel, Chambers and Partners 2022

"An absolute pleasure to work with, he puts clients at ease immediately and is incredibly empathetic. He is extremely tenacious and will fight for his clients."

Personal Injury, Chambers & Partners 2022

"He is very calm, thoughtful and considered. He has excellent judgement and clients love him."

Personal Injury, Chambers & Partners 2022

"Acts for both claimant and defendants, which gives him invaluable knowledge and experience."

Clinical Negligence, Chambers & Partners 2022

"He really cares about the client's situation and he works intelligently, thoroughly and with immediacy."

Clinical Negligence, Chambers & Partners 2022

"He is very clever, always well prepared and a really good advocate."

Clinical Negligence, Chambers & Partners 2022

"Supremely intelligent, patient with clients and in control before opponents and the court."

Personal injury, Legal 500 2022

"A consummate advocate who is comfortable at all levels of court."

Clinical Negligence, Legal 500 2022

"He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of international law and knows how to progress a claim in an effective and sensible way."

Clinical Negligence, Legal 500 2022

"He is extremely persuasive in court and very experienced. Clients love him."

Travel, Chambers and Partners 2021

"An understated but very effective advocate."

Travel, Chambers and Partners 2021

"His judgement is excellent and he is exceptional with clients."

Personal Injury, Chambers and Partners 2021

"He has a great command of the details and a real presence in court."

Personal Injury, Chambers and Partners 2021

"His judgement is excellent and he is exceptional with clients."

Clinical Negligence, Chambers and Partners 2021

"He has a great command of the details and a real presence in court."

Clinical Negligence, Chambers and Partners 2021

"Hugely talented and very good at tackling complex or thorny issues in a pragmatic way."

Clinical Negligence, Chambers and Partners 2020

"His calm and self-effacing manner compliments his expert tactical nous."

Clinical Negligence, Chambers and Partners 2020

"His ability to construct cases and marshal the evidence accordingly is of the highest quality."

Personal Injury, Chambers and Partners 2020

"He is noted for illness-related claims."

Travel, Chambers and Partners 2020

"His ability to construct cases and marshal the evidence accordingly is of the highest quality."

Personal Injury, Legal 500 2020

"He is noted for illness-related claims."

Travel, Legal 500 2020

"His calm and self-effacing manner compliments his expert tactical nous."

Clinical Negligence, Legal 500 2020

"He's massively knowledgeable, innovative and brilliant with clients. A complete expert in his field." "Thorough, analytical, easy to work with and willing to listen to alternative viewpoints."

Travel, Chambers & Partners 2019

"A very experienced clinical negligence lawyer." "Very bright." "Approachable and well liked by clients."

Clinical Negligence, Chambers & Partners 2019

"A real class act; he’s exceptionally diligent, very hard-working and someone who fights very hard for his clients." "He’s very approachable and sympathetic. A team player."

Personal Injury, Chambers & Partners 2019

"He is superb with clients and his attention to detail and ability to distil the issues impresses every time."

Personal Injury, Legal 500 2019

"Recommended for consumer injury claims."

Consumer, Legal 500 2019

"A charming and delightful man and also a very effective advocate."

Clinical Negligence, Legal 500 2019

"Good with clients, very bright and very sharp."

Clinical Negligence, Chambers & Partners 2018

"An authoritative, methodical and extremely able junior who is approachable and pleasant to work with."

Clinical Negligence, Chambers & Partners 2018

"Very experienced, very affable and very charming to be against."

Personal Injury, Chambers & Partners 2018

"Cool, calm and collected. His preparation is incredible and he has a good relationship with clients."

Personal Injury, Chambers & Partners 2018

"An exceptionally knowledgeable, personable and approachable litigator. A wonderful advocate and a great team player."

Travel, Chambers & Partners 2018

"He displays great care and is brilliant at handling experts and clients."

Travel, Chambers & Partners 2018

"A very safe pair of hands and brilliant at handling clients and experts."

Personal Injury, Legal 500 2017

"A very effective advocate."

Consumer, Travel, Legal 500 2017

"Thorough, efficient and excellent with clients."

Clinical Negligence, Legal 500 2017

To find out more, contact Paul Barton on +44 (0)20 7427 4907 or Chris Rowe on +44 (0)20 7427 4911 for a confidential discussion.

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