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Article taken from The Barnsley Property and Living Guide July 2007

New Medical Negligence Advice Clinic

 

The standard of healthcare in this country is usually very good but sometimes things do go wrong. 

Mills Kemp & Brown have specialist solicitors who have considerable experience in all aspects of medical negligence claims.  We can help investigate your claim.  We are accredited by the Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel and by the Legal Services Commission.

We have considerable success in achieving satisfactory outcomes for victims of medical/clinical negligence. 

Our initial advice is always free of charge and we offer a free half hour initial appointment for all medical accident claims. We have various options available when funding medical accident cases such as:-

  • Legal Aid (now called Public Funding) is available in some cases.  Children are assessed on their own income (not their parents' and therefore most children qualify for legal funding)
  • Conditional Fee Agreement (no win no fee) - subject to initial assessment
  • Legal Expenses Insurance - you may have legal expenses with your buildings and home contents insurance policy or other pre-existing insurance policies.
  • After the event insurance - it may be possible to arrange insurance cover depending on the circumstances of the case but we will be able to discuss this in detail with you if appropriate.

Mills Kemp & Brown offer a free Clinical Neglience Advice Clinic which takes place every Wednesday from 1:00pm - 4:00pm.  For a free first consultation at our Wednesday afternoon clinic please contact Beverley Theato.

Before qualifying as a solicitor in 1999 Beverley enjoyed a successful career as a Registered General Nurse, specialising in Intensive Care.  The added benefit of Beverley's extensive medical knowledge is a considerable advantage in Beverley's conduct of complex and often sensitive matters.


Unanimous Decision Wins Landmark Case
Written by Jonathan Brain

Mills Kemp & Brown are delighted to have won a landmark case which has far reaching implications for overseas workers.

Partner Jonathan Brain took the case of Stephen Lawson to the House of Lords on a pro bono (unpaid) basis because he believed in its importance. Stephen Lawson, 53,of Ward Green, Barnsley, a security officer formerly employed on Ascension Island by Serco Ltd, a UK registered company with a Middlesex head office, claimed unfair dismissal on the basis that his health and safety were put in peril by being asked to work excessively long hours.

In a judgement handed down from the House of Lords this month, a unanimous decision was made in Mr Lawson's favour. Jonathan Brain commented; "We are delighted with this result. Following the outcome of Mr Lawson's appeal, practitioners and the judiciary now have a definitive answer. People with strong British connections ordinarily working outside Great Britain for employers based in Great Britain are entitled to have unfair dismissal claims heard in the Employment Tribunal under English Law. This was previously an uncertain and potentially unfair area."

Counsel for Lawson instructed in the case, Jacques Algazy and Paul Spencer of Cloisters Chambers, London, were also acting on a pro bono basis. Lord Hoffman chaired the appeal which was also heard by Lord Woolf, Lord Rodger, Lord Walker and Baroness Hale. Watford Employment Tribunal had previously ruled that it had no jurisdiction to hear the claim as he was employed to work outside of England and Wales even though he was working for a British based employer.

Ascension Island is in the south Atlantic and is governed not by English law but by the law of St Helena. The importance of the case, which was heard in the House of Lords in November last year, is underlined by the fact that lawyers for the Foreign and Commonwealth office were given permission to take part in the appeal due to concerns on the part of the government of the possible implications of the House of Lords conferring unfair dismissal rights upon those employed overseas.

Stephen Lawson was first interviewed in the UK for the post of security officer and worked for Serco on Ascension Island from September 22, 2000 until he resigned from his post on April 6, 2001. He brought a claim for unfair constructive dismissal in the Employment Tribunal. Having less than 12 months service, Mr Lawson would not normally have been able to bring such a claim, however, health and safety claims and claims involving a breach of the Working Time Regulations 1998 are amongst the exceptions to this rule.

The Working Time Regulations 1998 provide that a worker can not be made to work more than 48 hours a week unless the worker agrees in writing. Mr Lawson represented himself at the Watford Employment Tribunal. After this he received advice from us and an appeal was brought in the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). The Employment Tribunal's decision was overruled on 11 March 2003. This was not the end of the story however as Serco Ltd appealed to the Court of Appeal which overruled the decision of EAT on the basis unfair dismissal can only be claimed in an Employment Tribunal in relation to employment in Great Britain. Following this decision, Mr Lawson's appeal was brought before the House of Lords.


Mills Kemp & Brown Solicitors
1-11 Huddersfield Road, Barnsley S70 2LP
Tel: 01226 210000 Fax:01226 211110