News & Events
News & Events
Gerard McDermott KC and Tom Gibson represented a young paraplegic man who received an 8-figure settlement following an accident at work. The claimant was working as an engineer on overhead power lines when he fell 50 feet from a pylon – sustaining catastrophic injuries, including a spinal fracture. After 8 weeks in intensive care and over 5 months in hospital overall, he was discharged home to continue his rehab and his new life as a paraplegic. Following an early admission of liability, the legal claim involved complicated quantum issues surrounding the claimant’s future lost earnings, future care regime, and future accommodation needs in particular. While no settlement can change what happened to the claimant, the compensation should help to ensure…
News 23 Jul, 2025
Outer Temple Chambers is delighted to invite you to our upcoming Asbestos Litigation Conference on Thursday 10th July 2025 at Glaziers Hall, London. Our team of experienced industrial disease barristers will be joined by leading experts to provide in-depth analysis on recent legal developments. The event will also offer practical guidance on complex issues such as causation and disclosure. This event is accredited by APIL Training. Topics will include: Assessing the future of low-level Asbestos exposure claims Revisiting evidence on commission hearings Panel: a comparative view of Product Liability claims in the UK and in the US Causation in Peritoneal Mesothelioma claims Panel: Claims arising from business loss We will be joined on the day by a selection of expert…
Tom Gibson represented a young woman in her successful claim for negligence in treating a knee injury – and for the loss of her promising career as a professional footballer. The claimant was just 18 years old when she consulted an orthopaedic surgeon at her local hospital about a cruciate ligament knee injury. After being given advice that she could continue training and playing football, her knee worsened over the next year. She eventually had two cruciate ligament reconstruction operations before making the heartbreaking decision, aged just 23, to retire from football. The claimant brought a ‘loss of a chance’ claim for her lost earnings as a professional footballer. As a teenager she had been a very promising young player…
News 16 Jan, 2025
Tom Gibson represented a young adult in his successful claim for the delayed diagnosis of his life-threatening sepsis. The claimant was just 28 years old when his GP failed to refer him to hospital one Thursday morning. By Friday evening he was seriously unwell. After a 999 call and an emergency ambulance to hospital, he was diagnosed with life-threatening sepsis. He then needed 4 months of hospital treatment – including over 3 months at a specialist centre in London, where he was put in an induced coma. He also needed ECMO [extracorporeal membrane oxygenation] treatment, a type of artificial life support, for 39 days. The claimant’s road to rehabilitation was a long one. He needed multiple fingertip and toe…
News 10 Sep, 2024
Clinical negligence barrister, Tom Gibson, comments on the dramatic end to the secondary victim claims saga. The Supreme Court has now handed down judgment on three conjoined appeals on the ‘secondary victim’ criteria for psychiatric injury claims in a clinical negligence setting; Paul v Wolverhampton, Polmear v Cornwall and Purchase v Dr Ahmed. The judgment [2024] UKSC 1 brings the secondary victim claims saga to a dramatic end. The Supreme Court dismissed the Claimants’ three appeals by a 6-1 majority. The judgments (running to 256 paragraphs over 76 pages) are complicated. However, as a very brief summary: There is a crucial difference between ‘accident’ cases and ‘medical crisis’ cases: The three previous key House of Lords authorities – McLoughlin v Brian, Alcock v…
News 12 Jan, 2024
Matthew Phillips KC and Tom Gibson represented a successful claimant who received compensation with a capitalised value of over £24million. The claimant suffered from four limb dystonic cerebral palsy as a result of the defendant hospital’s negligence at the time of her birth. The claimant’s family spent almost 9 years pursuing the claim, first establishing a full admission of liability, and then preparing for a quantum trial. The case involved complicated issues surrounding the claimant’s future care and accommodation needs in particular. A settlement, involving a £6,550,000 lump sum plus stepped periodical payments, was agreed after a settlement meeting and less than a month before the quantum trial. While no settlement can change what happened to the claimant, the compensation…
News 29 Nov, 2023
Tom Gibson acted for the successful claimant in an unusual bowel surgery case – where the largest claim was for increased food costs for life. The claimant was aged 13, in Year 8 at secondary school, when his local hospital failed to diagnose a volvulus, or twisted small bowel. The delay in diagnosis and in operating led to the tissue death and loss of most of his small bowel. He was left with 30cm of small bowel, compared to the average of around 600cm. With competent treatment, and timely surgery, his bowel loss would have been avoided completely. The claimant and his parents spent years building his case – including getting expert evidence from 7 different fields. While the claimant…
News 13 Nov, 2023
Tom Gibson acted recently for a claimant, a young high-flying teacher, who suffered a fractured skull and brain injury in a ‘freak’ road traffic accident. While driving on the A1, a sheet of metal flew through her windscreen and sliced her skull open. Over the next few years, the claimant attempted, courageously but ultimately unsuccessfully, to return to her career as a senior teacher. However, she eventually came to the very sad realisation that her teaching career – and her ambition to progress to being a headteacher – was over, due to the continuing effects of her brain injury. Tom was instructed by the claimant’s solicitor, Lesley Edwards at Barratts Solicitors, who brought a claim via the MIB’s Untraced Drivers’…
News 31 Aug, 2022
Outer Temple Chambers hosted a conference on spinal injury, focusing on Cauda Equina Syndrome on Thursday 23rd June 2022. The fourth in a series of five talks was by Tom Gibson, who gave a legal update on cauda equina claim catastrophes. Outer Temple Chambers hosted a series of talks and discussions on spinal injury related topics. These were chaired by Eliot Woolf QC. The webinar was held on Thursday 23rd June 2022. The Spinal Sessions focused on the topic of Cauda Equina Syndrome. The fourth talk of the day was by Outer Temple’s Tom Gibson, who gave a legal update on cauda claim catastrophes. Tom Gibson looks at two case studies with in his presentation; ‘Calderdale and Huddersfield v Metcalf’ and ‘North…
Webinars & Recordings 4 Jul, 2022
Sarah Crowther QC and Tom Gibson presented a talk on international clinical negligence at Outer Temple’s Travel Law Conference in Manchester. The video and slides are now available. Outer Temple Chambers hosted a Travel Law Conference in Manchester on 17th March 2022 together with a selection of esteemed guests from the travel law industry. This was a hybrid event and the recordings are now available online. The second talk of the day was “International Clinical Negligence – from the Cayman Islands to Cumbria”, presented by specialist travel law silk Sarah Crowther QC and clinical negligence expert Tom Gibson. International Clinical Negligence – from the Cayman Islands to Cumbria Tom opened the presentation by focusing on an area close to his heart,…
Webinars & Recordings 22 Apr, 2022
Join Outer Temple Chambers and guests for the first in a series of seminars and discussions on spinal injury related topics on Thursday 23rd June. Part 1 will focus on Cauda Equina Syndrome. You are invited to join Outer Temple Chambers and our esteemed guests for an afternoon of talks on Cauda Equina Syndrome. As well as a series of talks by our members we look forward to welcoming John Leach (Consultant Neurosurgeon), Dr Naveen Kumar (Consultant in Neurorehabilitation), and Maggie Sargent and Gill Creighton (Care and Case Management Specialists) of Maggie Sargent & Associates. Book your place This event, originally planned as a hybrid event, will now be offered as a virtual event due to the impending national rail…
Events 14 Apr, 2022
Join Outer Temple Chambers and guests for an afternoon of travel related talks at the Edwardian Radisson Hotel Manchester. This will be a hybrid event, with limited in-person tickets and streamed online. You are invited to join Outer Temple Chambers and our esteemed guests at the Edwardian Radisson Hotel in Manchester. This event will include a number of topical talks followed by a panel session. Agenda 12.30: In person registration/refreshments for a 1.00 start 1.00 – 1.15: Welcome by Gerard McDermott QC and Ian Denham (Joint Chairs) 1.15 – 2.00: “Litigating RTAs Abroad After Brexit” – Colin Murphy (Leigh Day) and Carin Hunt 2.00 – 2.45: “International Clinical Negligence – from the Cayman Islands to Cumbria” – Sarah Crowther QC…
Events 28 Feb, 2022
