Profile
Sam is a versatile and well-regarded multi-disciplinary barrister. He has a broad civil litigation practice, encompassing personal injury, clinical negligence, property damage, costs and sports matters. He also has a particular expertise in public inquiries and inquests.
Sam regularly acts as sole counsel in high value, complex claims with a pleaded value in excess of £1mn. He acts for both defendants and claimants enabling him to take a well-balanced view on matters. He is an experienced and effective advocate and negotiator, routinely representing clients in interim hearings (including CCMCs), JSMs/RTMs (as well as other forms of ADR), trial and detailed assessments. He also has a substantial advisory and paperwork practice.
Sam has also acted in a number of the most high profile public inquiries over the past decade, including the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry and the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. He has acted both as junior counsel to the inquiry and for core participants. He is, therefore, well-placed to offer his experience of both perspectives, and to represent and advise on all aspects of the inquiry process.
Sam regularly provides training and seminars on his areas of expertise. He is also an advocacy tutor for Lincoln’s Inn.
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Jameela Sheikh
Assistant Practice Manager
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Jameela Sheikh
Assistant Practice Manager
Areas Of Expertise
Sam is a sought-after personal injury practitioner. He routinely acts unled in cases involving serious injuries where the value is pleaded above £1mn. He has considerable experience of employers’ liability, public liability, occupiers’ liability, product liability, highways, road traffic accident (including credit hire), animal, secondary victim, abuse, fatal and CICA claims. In his early career, Sam gained considerable experience prosecuting and defending dishonesty allegations in the criminal courts, so he is well-placed to act in civil claims involving fundamental dishonesty and fraud issues.
CASES OF NOTE:
Various Claimants v A (ongoing) – Acting as junior counsel for the defendant in various claims arising out of a crowd crush at a music venue, led by Neil Block KC.
MW v JW (ongoing) – Acting for the defendant in an occupier’s liability claim arising out of an accident on an obstacle course which caused serious pelvic and spinal injuries.
G v GM (ongoing) – Acting for the defendant in an employer’s liability claim arising out of an accident while working on the engine of the defendant’s ship which caused significant leg injury.
Ds v M & MIB (ongoing) – Acting for the claimants in claims arising out of an RTA while they were on holiday in the UK with pleaded claim values around £500,000.
IJ & KJ (protected party) & AJ (protected party) v H – Acted for the claimants in Fatal Accident Act claim arising out of RTA with a pleaded claim value in excess of £1.6mn.
A x BC – Acted for the defendant in historic abuse claim which was struck out on the defendant’s application as disclosing no reasonable grounds.
V v M – Acted for the defendant in employer’s liability claim where claimant was assaulted by an intruder.
B v F v R – Acted for the first defendant in a product liability claim where the claimant’s vehicle spontaneously caught fire causing serious facial injuries.
Sam has considerable experience of clinical negligence claims. He is frequently instructed by healthcare trusts, private insurers, medical defence organisations, as well as by claimants. He has acted in claims involving a range of liability issues, including delayed and incorrect diagnosis, lack of informed consent, delayed referrals, surgical errors and negligent treatment of post-operative complications. He regularly deals with fatal claims, which is complemented by his experience representing interested persons in inquests.
CASES OF NOTE:
S v G (ongoing) – Acting for defendant, a general practitioner, in a fatal claim for around £1.4mn for alleged failure to exclude a cardiac cause for the claimant’s chest symptoms resulting in myocardial infarction and death.
K v D (ongoing) – Acting for defendant, a general practitioner, in a fatal claim for around £1.2mn for alleged failure to refer to a breast clinic resulting in delayed diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, significant metastasis and death.
K v WRS (ongoing) – Acting for defendant, a general medical practice, in claim for alleged failure to identify symptoms of critical limb ischaemia and to make an appropriate referral to vascular surgeons resulting in leg amputation.
M v TMP & Ors (ongoing) – Acting for defendant, a hospital trust, in claim for alleged delayed diagnosis of spinal nerve sheath tumour.
S v P (ongoing) – Acting for the claimant in a claim against a consultant plastic surgeon for alleged failure to obtain informed consent and to perform facial rejuvenation surgery to a reasonable standard resulting in permanent facial disfigurement.
F v C – Acted for defendant, an orthopaedic spinal surgeon, in claim for around £2mn for alleged negligent care/treatment of claim relating to spinal injections causing a dural puncture which resulted in functional neurological disorder. Settled at considerable discount following JSM.
D v M – Acted for defendant, a general practitioner surgery, in claim for around £1.3mn for alleged failure to urgently refer to ENT when the claimant presented with sudden left-sided hearing loss resulting in profound hearing loss. Settled at significant discount following JSM.
R v GRB – Acted for defendant, a veterinary surgery, for allegedly substandard eye surgery on the claimant’s bulldog. Claim dismissed following trial and significant costs order made against the claimant.
Sam is a sought-after junior in the field of property damage litigation. He is regularly instructed by insurers both bringing and defending claims. He has experience across a wide range of property damage claims, including defective premises, defective products, escape of water, natural hazards, fire and tree root subsidence. His instruction over five years as junior counsel to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry has left him especially well-placed to advise and represent in cases involving fire-related damage in a construction context.
CASES OF NOTE:
A v SMHL – Acted for the defendant, a residential property developer, in respect of a claim for fire damage to a new-build property allegedly caused by a faulty electrical appliance
D v A & J – Acted for the first defendant, a fire engineering company, in an escape of water claim in respect of a leaking sprinkler system which caused flooding at the claimant’s commercial office.
R v LGT & GG – Acted for the claimant, a building owner, in a claim for property damage when a bus and a car separately crashed into its building on the same day.
N & N v SCM – Acted for the defendant, commercial roofing specialists, in a claim for alleged failure to reinstall solar panels correctly which were subsequently damaged by adverse weather.
H v A – Acted for the claimant, a high net worth property owner, in an escape of water claim in respect of defective installation of a boiler and flue system in a high value residential property.
H v PCC – Acted for the defendant, a local authority, in respect of a claim for alleged tree-root induced subsidence damage to a residential property. The claim was dismissed at trial.
LF v SF – Acted for the defendant, a heating engineering company, in respect of a claim relating to alleged substandard decommissioning of an aga which subsequently exploded.
Sam has a well-established inquiries practice. He has acted in a number of the most high profile public inquiries over the past decade both as junior counsel to the inquiry and for key core participants, leaving him well-placed to offer his experience from both perspectives. He has in-depth knowledge and experience of all aspects of the inquiry process, including setting terms of reference, obtaining core participant status, managing disclosure, witness handling, rule 9 requests, rule 10 questions, submissions, Maxwellisation and reporting.
CASES OF NOTE:
Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry – Instructed as junior counsel for a core participant, Post Office Ltd, led by Kate Gallafent KC, Nicola Greaney KC and Simon Baker KC.
Covid-19 Inquiry – Instructed as junior counsel for a core participant, Department of Health and Social Care, led by Sam Stein KC and Fiona Scolding KC.
Grenfell Tower Inquiry – Instructed as part of the core junior counsel team for the Inquiry led by Richard Millett KC, Andrew Kinnear KC and Kate Grange KC.
Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (Westminster Investigation) – Instructed as junior counsel for a core participant, Metropolitan Police Service, led by Samantha Leek KC.
Sam is a member of Chambers’ specialist costs team. He is instructed to advise in ‘between the parties’ and ‘solicitor own client’ costs disputes and to represent in detailed assessment hearings and related applications. He is also experienced in the range of costs matters associated with civil litigation, including costs and case management conferences (CCMCs), the operation of the fixed recoverable costs regime, summary assessments, wasted costs, indemnity costs applications, Part 36 offers, and exceptions to qualified one-way cost shifting. He is also a regular contributor to 39 Essex Chambers’ Costs Newsletter: ‘3+9 = Costs’.
Sam has a growing practice in sports-related disputes, particularly sports injury cases which complement his personal injury and clinical negligence practice. He also has prior experience dealing with employment, disciplinary and criminal matters meaning he is well-placed to act in sports claims which interact with those areas of law. Sam also competed internationally at junior level in hockey. That elite sporting background gives him a valuable insight into the perspective and needs of players, organisations and professional bodies when dealing with sports disputes.
