Richard Cooke is an experienced advocate specialising in the field of personal injury.
He enjoys a busy court practice alongside his advisory work, acting on behalf of both claimants and defendants. His work regularly includes claims involving complex and catastrophic injuries and fatal accidents. He is frequently instructed by insurers in claims where dishonesty or exaggeration is alleged.
Richard often appears in costs management hearings and is experienced in all matters relating to funding.
Richard advises and appears in all areas of personal injury law on behalf of both claimants and defendants.
He has a wide range of experience in all areas including employer’s liability claims, public liability claims, road traffic accidents (including claims against the MIB involving both uninsured and untraced drivers and claims involving credit hire), and claims where fraud is alleged.
His work regulalry includes catastrophic injuries and fatal accidents. Richard well understands the importance of costs in litigation and has long experience of all matters relating to funding and costs management.
Richard’s practice includes a substantial amount of insurance fraud work and cases involving allegations of fundamental dishonesty. He routinely appears in claims involving motor insurance fraud, and frequently deals with large claims including credit hire and related losses. Richard has been involved in defending motor insurance claims for well over a decade and has extensive experience in all elements of this field.
Richard understands the need for a forensic approach to cross examination grounded in careful preparation and analysis, but also the need to be direct and robust when called for in order to expose claims tainted by fraud and exaggeration.
Richard has detailed knowledge and understanding of the legal framework relevant to personal injury claims involving fraud and exaggeration and has secured numerous findings of fundamental dishonesty for insurer clients under both CPR 44.16 and under s.57 CCJA.
In addition to his work in motor insurance fraud Richard has extensive experience of allegations of fundamental dishonesty in employer’s liability and public law claims, including in high value claims involving sometimes complex surveillance evidence.
In addition to trials and interlocutory hearings Richard is regularly instructed to assess evidence and advise both in conference and in writing where issues of fraud and dishonesty arise.
Richard is very experienced in credit hire litigation, and though he acts primarily for insurers he is also regularly instructed by Claimants. He has is well versed in the evidential issues which can arise during case management of credit hire claims and often attends interlocutory hearings where arguments over financial and other disclosure together with the extent and sequence of basic hire rate evidence can frame the whole course of a credit hire claim. Richard has also enjoyed recent success in allocation hearings where the introduction of the intermediate track has given rise to important arguments over the appropriate track and band for credit hire claims up to £100,000 in value, and where the costs consequences can be substantial. Recent cases have included:
Richard acts at all levels of claim in credit hire and aims to provide realistic and pragmatic advice and robust advocacy.
The lure of the newest prize in white collar boxing tempted barristers, solicitors, clerks, police and clients out of their sharp suits and into shorts…
The lure of the newest prize in white collar boxing tempted barristers, solicitors, clerks, police and clients out of their sharp suits and into shorts…
