Chief Legal Officer celebrates ‘flourishing medical negligence practice’ following national award triumph

Fletchers Solicitors’ Clinical Negligence Team have been awarded the prize of Clinical Negligence Team of the Year at this year’s annual Personal Injury Awards.

The ceremony held on 23rd November saw Fletchers come up against some of the biggest and best talent in Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Law.

Fletchers also returned home with a second award, with Solicitor, Gemma Roberts, one of the firm’s brightest talents in catastrophic injury, winning the Young Achiever category.

A ‘burgeoning, flourishing medical negligence practice’

Following the law firm’s double delight, Chief Legal Officer, Adrian Denson could not contain his pride in his appraisal of the team’s win.

Adrian said:

“I have been at Fletchers Solicitors for a decade and enjoyed one heck of a ride. At first, it was about expansion of our already well-established PI and serious injury teams. As Head of Serious Injury at the time, I oversaw incredible growth in that part of the business alongside establishing a Court of Protection team that is now vibrant and flourishing.

“The early days of my time here also saw us developing what was then a relatively young clinical negligence practice. I now recall with fondness (hindsight is a wonderful thing) how we worked so hard in the senior management team to establish that part of the business. We got some things right and, sometimes, some things wrong. But we were relentless and committed in our belief that we were here to stay and that we belonged in this complex and immensely important part of the personal injury sector.

“More importantly, we were supported by fabulous Fletcherians throughout the business who believed in us and our ability to succeed and they worked extremely hard to ensure that we did.

“Now, ten years on, I could not be prouder of what we have achieved. We have a burgeoning, flourishing medical negligence practice. We are blessed to be trusted by our clients with many thousands of medical negligence claims. And we have legal teams of such incredible, genuine quality who demonstrate compassion, hard work and skill in equal measure.

“And so, whilst I am immensely proud that we were short-listed in no less than six categories at the Personal Injury Awards, I must confess to feeling especially proud (and I have to be honest, more than a little emotional) at not only being a finalist in the ‘Clinical Negligence Team of the Year’, but winning.

One thing is for sure, we continue to go from strength to strength and I would like to thank every single Fletcherian who has made this happen.”

Delivering life-changing results for vulnerable clients

Ahead of the awards ceremony, the Clinical Negligence Department placed great emphasis on showcasing excellent legal accessibility.

The team has a policy of never rejecting meritorious cases purely on their expected return, and they have formed a specialist unit to effectively deal with lower value cases under £5000.

This inclusive approach not only broadens clients’ opportunities for justice but has resulted in broadening their legal services.

In addition, the Clinical Negligence Team is currently running two claimant group actions consisting of over 90 individual claims relating to separate orthopaedic practices at Southport Hospital and Colchester Hospitals.

A claimant support group has also been created to help disseminate key information and provide a forum for clients to share their treatment experiences.

In response, the judging panel commented:

“The winning team operate an outstanding ethos that comes from the top but is evident throughout their work. This team impresses across the board, from their high case-load and ability to manage large and complex cases, to their innovation and flexibility over the course of the pandemic.”

Fletchers was also shortlisted in the following categories:

Catastrophic Injury Lawyer of the Year – Caroline Morris; Clinical Negligence Lawyer of the Year – Trevor Ward; Case of the Year; and Marketing Campaign of the Year.