John is a partner in our London office and is the Sector Lead of our National Public Sector team within the Claims Solutions Group. He joined DAC Beachcroft in 2017 when the team moved over from Clyde & Co.

John specialises in defending catastrophic and complex personal injury claims on behalf of public authority and other bodies.  

He has over 25 years’ experience advising clients across a range of sectors including public authority and other sectors. His key clients include Zurich Insurance, the BBC, most local authorities in London, Gallagher Bassett and Protector . John is Client Relationship Partner for Network Rail, having recently led a successful pitch on behalf of the firm to become their sole liability lawyers.

He has over 26 years' experience defending employer and public liability claims and RTA cases, mostly but not exclusively on behalf of public sector clients, including local authorities and housing associations. He also has experience handling fatality claims.

Outlined below are examples of John's recent and relevant experience:

• Elder v LB Wandsworth, Central London County Court, September 2017, (Trial Win). This case provides useful confirmation of the limited duties owed by a highway authority when faced with claims involving street furniture.
• Other cases include:

• Defeating a claim by a motorcyclist whose leg was traumatically amputated when he allegedly hit a pothole. John showed that he could not in fact have hit the pothole but was probably doing a wheelie and lost control.
• Securing a discontinuance in a case where the Claimant alleged devastating injuries from an alleged contamination of water from the communal water tank.
• Securing a discontinuance in a claim by a forklift truck driver whose foot was crushed by a metal beam, where our defence was that the accident was wholly caused by his negligent actions.

John recently chaired a Legal Question Time Webinar for Public Authorities on COVID-19 associated risks for public authorities and how to minimise them.