Gemma’s busy personal injury practice focuses on high value and serious injury claims. She has expertise in cases concerning spinal injury, brain injury, amputations, fatal accidents and industrial disease.
Examples of recent work include:
- B v C – Gemma secured a settlement of over £1 million for the family of a man who was killed in a motor accident. The value of the dependency claim turned upon arguments as to future income expectations from the Deceased’s business, which had he built and which thrived until his death but was later dissolved.
- A v B & C – Gemma is being led by Henry Pitchers QC in a catastrophic injury claim, valued in the region of £4 million following a road traffic collision;
- A v B – Gemma represents a motorcyclist who suffered serious head, spinal and orthopaedic injuries. The case is ongoing, damages are expected to exceed £500,000.
- LB v K – Gemma represents a young claimant who suffered a head injury in a RTA and developed post-traumatic epilepsy. He subsequently received negligent hospital treatment, worsening his brain injury and epilepsy. He now requires constant care and has lost all earning capacity; the case is valued at around £1 million.
- S v An Equestrian Centre – Gemma represented a Claimant who suffered a life-changing shoulder injury in an equestrian accident. Liability was fiercely contested until late in the proceedings, when it was shown that the defendant had dishonestly edited key documents. The claim was then comprised on a full liability basis for a substantial 6 figure sum.
- H v T Ltd – Gemma acts for a claimant who suffered severe and life-changing leg injuries when he was struck by a lorry; the claim is complex against a background of pre-existing disability and degenerative co-morbidities but damages are expected to approach £500,000.
- In December 2020 without a leader, acted for the successful Respondent in the Court of Appeal in Adedeji v University Hospitals Birmingham [2021] EWCA CIV 23 – an employment law case concerning the strict application of time limits in discrimination cases.
- O and D v A firm – A fatal accident at work gave rise to a complex dependency claim on behalf of the deceased’s three young daughters. Gemma represented the claimants throughout and negotiated a global settlement in excess of £250,000 at a JSM.
- D v R – the claimant suffered spinal fractures and cord injury after falling from a horse during a riding lesson at an equestrian centre. Gemma represented the claimant at trial, at which breach of duty, causation and liability were all in dispute.
- B v A firm – Gemma acted for the claimant who suffered a partial amputation of his left hand in an accident at work involving a circular saw. The claim was valued in excess of £250,000 and liability and damages were contested until the morning of trial, when the matter was successfully compromised.
- C v Motor Insurer – The claimant suffered a relatively modest back injury in a RTA; he underwent discectomy and spinal fusion surgery but a non-negligent complication resulted in him suffering a significant injury to his spinal cord. The matter is ongoing but damages are expected to reach £500,000.
- A v CICA – The appellant suffered gun shot wounds and severe psychiatric injury following an assault at her work place. On appeal to the CICA Gemma secured an award of almost £500,000.
Memberships
MCCBA
Free Representation Unit
Gray’s Inn (Lord Uthwatt Scholarship 2005)
Qualifications
M.A Oxon; Philosophy, Politics and Economics (New College, Oxford)
GDL BPP Law School (Commendation)
BVC BPP Law School (Very Competent)
