Vanessa qualified as a Solicitor in 1999. She has been a member of the Law Society Personal Injury Panel since 2003. She was made an Associate with the firm in 2003 and a Senior Associate in May 2006.
Since qualification she has specialised in personal injury litigation dealing mainly with complex high value catastrophic injury cases in particular acting on behalf of Claimants who have sustained brain and spinal cord injuries. She acts for Claimants who live throughout the UK.
Vanessa was significantly involved in the case of Parry –v- Humbert (2005) in which the Claimant, Stuart Parry sustained a severe brain injury, a severe mid thoracic spinal cord injury leading to T6 motor and sensory complete paraplegia together with significant injuries to his hands, chest, cervical spine and brachial plexus. Stuart's upper limb injuries have an impact upon his ability to move and transfer, exaggerating the effects of paralysis. Stuart needs help with all transfers and requires 24 hour care.
Vanessa negotiated a substantial interim payment and assisted Stuart to employ a Case Manager who arranged a care package on his behalf. This allowed Stuart to go on holiday to America and start to enjoy a quality of life again which since the accident he felt had been denied to him. At trial Stuart was awarded a gross sum of £3.6 million in damages.
Vanessa was also significantly involved in the case of Honnor –v- Lewis (2005). Gavin Honnor was an 11 year old schoolboy who sustained catastrophic brain damage when he was run over by the Defendant. Liability was fully disputed by the Defendants however at the liability trial in April 2005 Mr Justice Silber "unhesitatingly found that the Defendant was negligent by not seeing the Claimant on the kerb and/or crossing the road, and/or by not slowing down and/or by not sounding his horn." The Judge found that there was contributory negligence of 20% on the part of Gavin. Subsequently a substantial interim payment was obtained from the Defendants that enabled Vanessa to assist Gavin's mother, his Litigation Friend, to employ a Case Manager who implemented a care package and arranged a programme of rehabilitation to help Gavin.
The quantum of damages was subsequently settled through negotiations and was approved by the Court on 25th July 2006 in the gross sum of £3.7 million.
Vanessa has acted for a number of other brain injury clients in the last couple of years who have received large interim payments which have allowed them to undergo medical treatments including both home based and residential rehabilitation and to employ a Case Manager and a team of support workers. These cases have been successfully concluded through negotiations and the Claimants have invariably received in excess of £1 million in damages.
Vanessa also acted for the Claimant in the case of K –v- B (2006) in which the Claimant was a pedestrian waiting at a bus stop when the Defendant driving a motor car mounted the pavement and drove into the bus stop colliding with the Claimant, Mrs K.
Mrs K sustained serious injuries which included an above knee leg amputation. Vanessa negotiated an interim payment which enabled Mrs K to attempt to have a prosthesis made to fit her stump at a private clinic. Unfortunately after investigations it was found that due to the shape of the stump she could not tolerate a prosthesis and was effectively wheelchair bound requiring a 24 hour care regime. Mrs K received £2.1 million in damages which is thought to be a record amount for a limb amputation case.
Vanessa is a member of the Spinal Injuries Association, Headway, College of Personal Injury Lawyers and a Litigator of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers. In her leisure time she enjoys yoga and running and ran the Windsor Half Marathon in 2005.
Last year she was a volunteer on a multi activity course run by a charity called the Back-up Trust whose aim through such courses is to encourage self-confidence, independence and motivation in people following a traumatic incident resulting in spinal cord injury. Vanessa acted as a buddy to both paraplegic and tetraplegic participants and was involved in all the course activities which included wheelchair basketball, hand cycling, hiking, wheelchair hockey and kayaking.
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