Will’s practice is divided primarily between personal injury, clinical negligence and employment.
He has particular interest and expertise in high value quantum matters, which is reflected in his record as having been junior counsel for the Claimant (led by Gerard McDermott KC) in both the claim involving the highest ever award of damages in a UK Employment Tribunal discrimination case (AB v RBS [2021] EWCA Civ 345 – £4.7m damages) and what is understood to have been at the time the largest ever periodical payment award in a UK personal injury claim (LXD v Roscoe [2024], £1.1m annual periodical payment).
His personal injury practice increasingly consists of serious and/or catastrophic injury cases involving brain, spinal and amputation injury cases, in which he is a well-regarded junior, working with a number of silks in chambers, and with some of the leading national firms. His cases as sole counsel involve a wide range of personal injury actions, including brain and spinal injury claims, and largely in the High Court. He has a particular interest in industrial disease claims (in particular mesothelioma claims), equine injury claims, and personal injury claims with a cross-border aspect to them.
His clinical negligence practice encompasses a range of claims, from surgical negligence to delayed diagnosis, acting for Claimants and Defendants. He acts as sole counsel as well as a junior in higher value and more complex cases. He also appears at inquests, particularly where there is a potential clinical negligence issue, acting for both families and NHS Trusts.
Will also appears in the Employment Tribunal on a regular basis, representing both Claimants and Respondents in employment law disputes, as well as in the Employment Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal. He is regularly instructed in multi-day discrimination, whistleblowing and unfair dismissal cases, amongst others.
Within the employment sphere Will has a particular interest and expertise in claims involving psychiatric injury, in which his personal injury practice gives him particular expertise. He has acted in a number of recent cases involving claims of significant psychiatric injury caused by discrimination or detrimental treatment at work, and his personal injury experience assists him to bring to this work both particular expertise with regards to medical evidence, and sensitivity towards often very vulnerable Claimants.
Will is a tenacious advocate both orally and on paper, able to digest complex factual situations and documentary evidence quickly and comprehensively and to present arguments persuasively. He takes pride in providing advice that is thorough, practical, responsive and on time, and always maintains a focus on his clients’ needs and priorities.
Will studied Modern History at Oxford University, before completing his Graduate Diploma in Law. He is a Lord Denning Scholar of Lincoln’s Inn. He was a Pegasus Scholar to Washington DC in 2012. Outside of the law his interests are history; politics; music; and sport, rowing in particular, having twice coxed the Great Britain Under 18 VIII at the Junior World Championships, as well as the Oxford reserve boat in the 2004 Boat Race.
Will accepts instructions from for both Claimants and Defendants in personal injury actions, although more often acts for Claimants. His cases involve a wide range of such claims, including road traffic accidents, claims under the Occupiers Liability Act, and the Fatal Accidents Act, as well as employers’ liability claims (including stress-at-work and industrial disease claims) and cross-border personal injury claims. He also appears in claims under the Animals Act, particularly in equine cases, an area of his practice that has grown significantly in recent years.
Will is well-regarded as a junior in catastrophic brain and spinal injury, and amputation, cases, and has been led in current and recent cases by a number of silks in chambers, including Gerard McDermott KC, Nathan Tavares KC, Eliot Woolf KC, Harry Steinberg KC, Matt Phillips KC, and Sarah Crowther KC. . He is also instructed as sole counsel in a number of brain and spinal injury cases (where his opponents are very often significantly more senior than him).
Will advises, drafts pleadings, and appears in court on a regular basis in personal injury claims, as well as attending joint settlement meetings. He is always steadfast in the pursuit of his clients’ interests, but opponents find him a sensible and reasonable negotiator, and he achieves good outcomes through negotiations.
Will is experienced and comfortable dealing with the medical evidence that is always involved in such cases, and his other areas of work, particularly employment litigation, means he is also a seasoned and confident courtroom advocate.
Will also regularly provides CPD training events for solicitors’ firms. Topics have included fraud in PI cases (especially in a travel context); stress-at-work claims; dealing with expert evidence; and Fatal Accidents Act cases, but he is happy to provide talks on other topics of interest.Will acts for both Claimants and Defendants in personal injury actions, although more often for Claimants. His cases involve a wide range of such claims, including road traffic accidents, claims under the Occupiers Liability Act, and the Fatal Accidents Act, as well as employers’ liability claims (including stress-at-work claims) and cross-border personal injury claims. He also appears in claims under the Animals Act, particularly in equine cases, an area of his practice that has grown significantly in recent years.
Acting (initially led by Matt Phillips KC, but then as sole counsel) in a case involving deliberate vehicular assault, leading to significant brachial plexus and lower limb injuries. The case settled at a JSM for £3m;
Acting as sole counsel in a claim involving a horrific facial injury (including the loss of an eye) in a young male claimant during the course of his employment. The Defendant was represented by a senior junior (of 25 years more call than Will) and settled for a sum in excess of £800,000;
Acting for the Claimant (as junior counsel to Gerard McDermott KC) in the case of LXD v Roscoe, in which the Claimant suffered catastrophic brain injury as a result of a road traffic accident, leading to tetraplegia. The case settled for a lump sum of £6m and periodical payments of £1.1m per year (largely to pay for an extensive care regime), which is understood to have been at the time the highest periodical payment award ever made by a UK court in a personal injury action;
Acting as a junior to Gerard McDermott KC for the Claimant in an RTA claim involving a young child claimant, which settled after a Mediation for an amount which amounted, when capitalised, to around £13 million;
Acting as junior counsel to Matt Phillips KC in two cases, one of which involved a spinal injury to a young boy aged 2 at the date of injury, resulting in paraplegia, which settled for a lump sum of £13.25m; and a second case involving a unilateral amputation after a road traffic accident, with significant psychiatric injuries, which resulted in settlement for £7.5m;
Being led by Eliot Woolf KC in a case involving severe CRPS leading to amputation. The case settled shortly before trial for just under £4m;
Acting as sole counsel in an employers liability case involving a moderate brain injury, which settled shortly before a High Court trial for in excess of £1.1m;
A stress-at-work claim involving very serious psychiatric injuries, preventing the Claimant from returning to work as a consultant physician. Will was instructed for the Claimant; the Defendant instructed a KC, and the claim settled at a mediation for £745,000; and
A case involving an orthopaedic injury at work, in which the Defendant was represented by a KC, and which settled at a JSM for £525,000.
Will has experience in industrial disease matters, in a variety of circumstances, but particularly in Mesothelioma claims, which is a rapidly expanding area of his practice.
Solicitor clients particularly appreciate his experience and expertise in relation to quantum matters, and he is regularly instructed to draft Schedules of Loss and advise on quantum for Claimants in Mesothelioma cases.
Will is always open to running new and interesting points and testing the boundaries of the law in this area, as is demonstrated by some of his recent cases, set out below.
Acting as junior to Harry Steinberg KC in a mesothelioma case involving alleged loss of dependency on business profits. The case was a slightly unusual application of the dicta in Rix v Paramount, in that the deceased had not been the sole driving force of the business. The case involved complex expert accountancy evidence. Will drafted the Schedule of Loss, and the claim settled at a JSM for around £900,000;
Acting as sole counsel in a mesothelioma claim in which the deceased had provided extensive services for the family’s letting business. The case was not completely straightforward, as the family business had not been profit making, so slightly novel arguments had to be deployed. The Defendant was represented by a KC, and the claim settled at a JSM for a sum of £585,000;
Acting as sole counsel in a mesothelioma claim in which the exposure was in both England and Scotland, and the Claimants are running a claim under Scottish law in the English courts, as well as running a slightly unusual claim based on loss of dependency on inheritance from the Deceased. There is the potential for new law to be made on this point; and
Acting as sole counsel in a mesothelioma claim involving potentially low levels of exposure to a Claimant whilst working in a garage. The case is likely to explore the boundaries of liability in low-exposure cases in the wake of Johnston v Fawcett’s Garage.
Will has a busy practice in this area, and he regularly advises and drafts pleadings for both Claimants and Defendants in cases involving a wide range of clinical disputes. In addition to being instructed as sole counsel, he has acted as a junior in more valuable and/or complex cases. He also appears at inquests, representing families and also NHS institutions, which has given him additional experience of questioning medical witnesses and advocacy in a health-care context.
He has experience of a wide range of clinical disputes, including negligent failures to diagnose conditions ranging from cancer and bowel obstructions to orthopaedic injuries, surgical negligence (including bowel perforations and biliary injuries), and negligent failure to treat psychiatric patients, leading to suicide or serious self-harm.
Will’s advice is thorough and comprehensive, and he always aims to be practical, realistic and attuned to the needs and expectations of his client, whilst always seeking to achieve the best outcome reasonably possible. He is comfortable and confident in handling expert evidence in factually complex medical situations, and in dealing with medical experts. He strives to put clients at ease, and to always put them and their needs and interests at the centre of all of his work.
He is scrupulous about completing work on time, and appreciates the importance of this to those who instruct him. He prioritises responsiveness, which clients often say they appreciate.
Many of Will’s clinical negligence cases involve significantly more senior counsel acting for the other party.
Acting as junior to Jonathan Hand KC in a claim involving birth injury leading to cerebral palsy. The claim settled at a JSM for a capitalised sum in excess of £10m (the settlement involved significant periodical payments);
Acting as junior counsel in a case including a wrongful birth case, which settled shortly after a JSM for £3 million, and a case involving negligent psychiatric treatment leading to a suicide attempt and double amputation, which settled for around £2 million;
Acting as junior to Nathan Tavares KC in a claim involving delayed diagnosis of cauda equina syndrome, leading to permanent neurological symptoms. The claim settled at a JSM for £800,000;
Acting as sole counsel for the Defendant in a claim involving negligent failure to diagnosis post operative infection, leading to the permanent removal of the Claimant’s hip replacement prosthesis, and to significant mobility difficulties. The claim was pleaded as being worth in excess of £5m, but was settled at a JSM for £1.5m;
Acting as sole counsel for the Claimant in a claim involving negligent failure to diagnose an obstruction leading to bowel perforation. The claim was listed for a 7-day High Court trial, but settled on the eve of trial for a seven-figure sum;
Acting as sole counsel for the Defendant in a claim involving allegedly negligent failure to diagnose cauda equina syndrome, leading to significant spinal cord injuries. The Claimant was represented by a KC, and the case settled at a mediation for £500,000; and
Appearing for the Claimant at trial in an action relating to allegations of negligence during a total knee replacement. The case involved contested expert evidence concerning surgical technique and analysis of post-operative radiography.
Will appears regularly in the Employment Tribunal (acting both for Claimants and Respondents), as well as the Employment Appeal Tribunal. He also provides written advice and drafts pleadings when required.
Will has a particular interest in employment cases involving allegations of psychiatric injury caused by discrimination or whistleblowing detriment, often in high-pressure legal, financial services, or similar employment. His personal injury experience is extremely valuable in this area, since it has given him both familiarity with medical expert evidence and skill at handling experts (to a greater extent than is usual in Employment Tribunal litigation), but also sensitivity towards often very vulnerable Claimants. He has a number of on-going cases involving these kind of issues, and has advised at an early stage on both stress-at-work claims in the civil courts and claims in the Employment Tribunal for personal injury flowing from discrimination. It is not uncommon in these kind of cases for Will to be instructed opposite more experienced counsel, including KCs.
His experience with medical evidence and personal injury claims makes him an obvious choice for many instructing solicitors for claims of disability discrimination.
He has a very broad experience of employment disputes, however, ranging from claims against small private companies to large national and international employers, both public and private sector, and including in the field of financial and professional services. He is particularly interested in discrimination and whistle-blowing claims of all types, and has a significant amount of experience in his field.
He also has experience of employment and employment-type claims in the civil courts; two notable examples being: advising a senior consultant in the healthcare field working in the Middle East in relation to claims for sums due under his contract of employment; and advising directors of a media company on an injunction to restrain a former employee from making unauthorised use of intellectual property owned by the company
Abel v Reynolds [2026] IRLR 106
Will was instructed by Advocate at short notice to represent the Claimant in his significant appeal considering the interpretation of the Early Conciliation scheme in the ET. He led Chevan Illangaratne of OTC, and their submissions were praised in the judgment of Underhill LJ as being “of high quality”. The Respondent’s appeal in relation to the early conciliation regime was allowed, but the ET’s decision to allow the claim to proceed was upheld on alternative grounds (added in by Will after his instruction);
AB v RBS [2021] EWCA Civ 345
Will was sole counsel for the (3 week) liability hearing and junior counsel (led by Gerard McDermott KC) for the remedy hearing in this disability discrimination case, which resulted in the Claimant being awarded £4.7 million, understood to be the highest award ever made in any discrimination claim in the UK Employment Tribunal system. Appeals by the Respondent were dismissed by the EAT and the Court of Appeal;
Kong v Gulf International Bank (UK) Ltd [2022] ICR 1513
Will acted (unled) as counsel for the Claimant in her appeals to the EAT and then the Court of Appeal concerning the rejection of her claim for automatic unfair dismissal as a result of whistleblowing. This is now the leading case on the extent to which the manner in which protected disclosures are made can be separated from the disclosures themselves;
Henderson v GCRM Ltd [2026] ICR 101
Will acted for the Claimant in this appeal to the Scottish EAT, leading Stephen Butler from OTC, with a Scottish KC and senior junior acting for the Respondent. The case concerned the correct application of the principle in Jhuti v Royal Mail in cases of whistleblowing detriment, and gave important guidance on the approach in this area, in which there had been conflicting EAT decisions;
Moon v Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust [2024] EAT 4
Will was instructed (pro bono) by the Claimant in this appeal by the Respondent concerning whether Hospital Managers who decide appeals against detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 have worker status for the purposes of whistleblowing claims. He led Patrick Tomison of OTC in the EAT. The Respondent was represented by Edward Morgan KC (also of OTC). The appeal was successfully resisted, and the claim allowed to proceed;
Edward v Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust [2023] IRLR 463
Will acted for the Respondent in this appeal by the Claimant against a remedy judgment. The EAT considered departing from long-standing authority on the test for whether compensation should be reduced as a result of failure to mitigate (but in the end did not do so);
Will was instructed as sole counsel for the Claimant in a case involving alleged disability discrimination and unfair dismissal by a well-known technology company. Shortly before a trial (at which the Respondent was due to be represented by a KC and a junior) the claim settled for over £2 million;
A claim in the Employment Tribunal alleging disability and sex discrimination, as well as whistleblowing detriment. Will was instructed by the Claimant; the Respondent (a large financial institution) was due to be represented at the 13 day ET hearing by leading and junior counsel. The claim settled before trial for a multi-million pound sum;
A stress-at-work claim (with claims issued in the Employment Tribunal as well as the High Court) involving very serious psychiatric injuries, preventing the Claimant from returning to work as a consultant physician. Will was instructed for the Claimant; the Defendant instructed a KC, and the claim settled at a mediation for £745,000;
Igweike v TSB Bank [2020] IRLR 267
This was a case concerning whether grief was capable of amounting to a disability, and considering the question of the relevance of a claimant’s difficulties with activities at work when considering whether or not they were disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010;
Prasad v Epsom & St Helier NHS (2019)
Successful appeal to the EAT overturning the dismissal of the Claimant’s claim for harassment on grounds of sex. The Respondent was represented by a QC;
Rana v London Borough of Ealing [2018] EWCA Civ 2074
Will was sole counsel in this Court of Appeal case (acting pro bono), which gave guidance on the correct approach to applications for extensions of the time limit for appeals to the EAT where the ET’s judgment has not been sent to one of the parties;
Taylor v Ladbrokes [2017] IRLR 312
This EAT case considered the question of progressive disabilities and whether or not the Claimant’s diabetes amounted to a disability.
Will has a particular interest in claims involving cross-border personal injury and travel law.
He acts for both Claimants and Defendants in claims with an international or cross-border element to them in a number of areas, including: package travel claims, cross-border RTAs, Athens Convention, and Montreal Convention claims.
He has been instructed in a number of cases involving catastrophic injury following RTAs abroad, or with a cross-border element to them.
He also acts in claims involving package holidays, including a recent claim involving a serious shoulder injury suffered whilst on a cycling tour holiday in Peru, as well as on aviation claims, including a recent advice on the interpretation of the meaning of “operations of embarking” under the Montreal Convention.
He regularly provides CPD training for solicitors’ firms, with recent talks having covered group claims; Forum Non Conveniens; fundamental dishonesty” in package travel claims; jurisdiction after Brownlie v Four Seasons; and X v Kuoni. He regularly speaks at Outer Temple’s annual Travel Law seminar and was the co-author of the Athens Convention chapter in the 2018 APIL Accidents Abroad book.
Will Young 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.
To find out more, contact Paul Barton on +44 (0)20 7427 4907 or Ben Fitzgerald on +44 (0)20 7427 4945 for a confidential discussion.
