David has over 20 years’ experience acting for defendants and their insurers in the handling and resolution of large loss/catastrophic injury claims and litigation arising from accidents covered under public, employer, and motor liability policies. He has been identified by Legal 500 as a leading partner in his field.

Expert in all manner of casualty and motor claims, he has particular interest in claims involving chronic pain disorders and FND. David is also instructed on large loss personal injury claims where there is suspected fraud or deliberate exaggeration of symptoms, with an excellent track record of significant savings in indemnity spend and discontinuances.

David is also the key legal advisor to the national governing bodies for two and four-wheeled motorsport in the UK, alongside a variety of track owners/ operators, clubs, and commercial entities, representing their interests in injury claims and inquests, advising on risk and strategy, and supporting their engagement with regulatory and executive bodies.

His wider sports practice provides instructions from clubs, associations, schools, colleges and universities to advise on and address claims arising from rugby, football, golf, cricket, and field sports.

David regularly provides training and presents seminars to customers and the wider insurance claims community on claims defensibility, risk management, and litigation updates from the catastrophic injury and sports work he undertakes. He has also authored articles for trade and connected press, alongside bulletins and papers for internal use.

Featured experience:

• Resolving a below-knee amputation claim within eight months of the accident. Working collaboratively with the corporate client, their insurer, and the claimant’s solicitor, arranged focused rehabilitation and case management alongside the application of the insurer client’s proactive prosthetic protocol. The claimant was assessed for and provided with the requisite prosthetics, a comprehensive rehabilitation programme, and retraining. An early significant offer was accepted, allowing the claimant to avoid a potentially lengthy claims process, and providing the client a significant cost saving.
• Successfully defending, in the High Court, following trial of claim for significant damages after a high-speed collision between a track day instructor and customer causing life changing injuries to the instructor. The claim addressed the duties owed, consideration of the Bolam test to a motorsport provider, and legal, factual causation.
• Discontinuing a claim by a competitor following an accident during a competitive motorcycle race. Defendant expert evidence addressed the inherent risk of motorsport and the responsibilities of race officials and the clerk of the course during the race and identified that no liability could reasonably attach to the defendant.
• Resolving a complex FND claim by early cost inclusive offer. The claim was first notified on limitation and liability in issue. The claimant's initial medical evidence expected a prompt recovery however, her symptoms deteriorated to significantly impaired mobility and compromised bowel and bladder function. Experts in neuropsychiatry, orthopaedics, and pain management could not attribute her presentation to the accidental injury. A Calderbank offer had been made early in the litigation and was accepted, providing significant cost protection savings for the client.
• Advising the MCC on the laws of cricket and concussion regulation.

Reported Cases:

• Fairclough Homes Ltd v Summers [2012] UKSC 26
• Poole v Simon Wright & Ors [2013] EWHC 2375 (QB)
• Clarke v Kerwin t/a Dirtbike Action [2018] 4 WLUK 497
• Brand v No Limits Track Days Ltd [2020] EWHC 1306 (QB)
• Carus v Stonyhurst [2024] EWHC 3052 (KB

Endorsements:

• “Unparalleled knowledge of fatal and catastrophic injury claims in motorsports” (Legal 500 UK, 2024)