Heather has extensive experience in catastrophic injury claims with particular expertise in birth injury and wrongful birth claims and has personally dealt with over 150 catastrophic injury claims. She has also been acting on behalf of GPs for the MDU and now NHS Resolution for over 20 years, dealing with more than 100 claims against GPs and supervising countless others.

Cases that Heather is currently managing include those involving complex liability and quantum issues arising from birth injury, subarachnoid haemorrhage, cauda equina, and other catastrophic neurological injury. Her current portfolio of cases involves a wide range of issues including delayed referrals to hospital where a variety of conditions developed such as paediatric meningitis resulting in neurological brain damage, ischaemic limb resulting in amputation, and spinal haematoma resulting in paralysis.

Heather regularly sits on NHS Resolution’s panel collaborative safety and learning working group and is involved in shared learning initiatives both within the firm and with NHS Trusts around patient safety and risk management. She heads up DACB’s national patient safety and learning working group and regularly assists Trust members in analysis of their claims data.

Heather’s relevant experience includes:

• Successfully defending an NHS Trust at trial in a complex paediatric causation case valued at over £22 million where the claimant was alleged to have sustained catastrophic neurological injury during neonatal care
• Advising a major private London hospital and securing the discontinuance of a complex multi-party claim valued in excess of £10 million brought by an internationally renowned artist arising out of spinal treatment which it is alleged resulted in paralysis
• Advising on and negotiating a £23 million settlement in a claim for catastrophic brain damage sustained as a consequence of delays in the claimant’s delivery which occurred when her mother went into labour at home and an emergency situation arose

Heather has featured as a leading defendant clinical negligence lawyer in Chambers and Legal 500 for several years. Published feedback from both directories comment that Heather is:

• "a standout Partner."
• “very experienced in defending the most complicated clinical negligence claims and good at marshalling her evidence to meet a difficult claim."
• "She is extremely thorough, very well prepared and gives top-class advice."
• "an experienced trial lawyer who has insight, excellent judgement and the flexibility to move around changing circumstances."
• "an extremely able and highly experienced lawyer".