The Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence group of Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP has received top rankings for its Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence work in the leading client law guide, Chambers 2008.  The firm has been ranked in the top tier of Chambers 2008, for the categories of Personal Injury, Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury:Industrial Disease.

Chambers & Partners is an internationally regarded law guide which ranks law firms according to specialist areas. Industrial disease is a new subcategory within personal injury featuring in Chambers 2008.

Field Fisher Waterhouse has worked on a number of high-profile personal injury and clinical negligence cases over the last year which are reflected in the rankings.

For the categories of Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence, Chambers 2008 says:

Personal Injury
'This “top-quality outfit” consists of “real professionals” who “know exactly what they are doing,” clients report. The personal injury team boasts a depth of understanding that belies its size and a caseload that ranges from road traffic and transport accident claims to brain and spinal injury matters. It is best known, however, for its work in the industrial disease arena where it regularly undertakes high-profile cases. These include acting for the claimants in the pleural plaques proceedings. Rodney Nelson-Jones heads the department. He garners praise as “one of the best litigators around” and is admired for his “fantastic client care.” He specialises in industrial disease issues, although he is developing a reputation in the context of air crash claims. Peter Williams, an authority on asbestos and fatal accident suits, “excels at unravelling knotty legal problems,” clients observe.'

Clinical Negligence
'Market sources deem this City-based outfit “a first-class firm at the top of the tree for clinical negligence work.” The team may be small, but the strength and talent of its solicitors warrants its inclusion in the top tier. The group focuses on high-value complex cases and can often be found handling obstetric-related work: for example, in 2006 the team achieved a £3.5 million settlement for a child suffering cerebral palsy after the misuse of a drug during labour. The firm represents clients across the UK and is developing a presence in the international marketplace, where it recently took on a case for a Hong Kong resident. Heading the department is the “superlative” Paul McNeil, who is endorsed by sources as being both “incredibly tenacious” and “formidable - he has a good tactical sense of cases and understands the strengths and weaknesses involved.” McNeil is a long-established force in the field and an active member of several key panels and organisations, including Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA) and The Royal Society of Medicine.'

SOURCE: Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP