Joel Donovan

Clinical negligence; personal injury; professional negligence; professional regulation.

Barrister practising mainly in complex high-value clinical negligence and PI, including grave birth injury and brain/spinal cord lesions. Accepts public access. Commended in Chambers UK 2016 for both clinical negligence and personal injury:

“..phenomenally intelligent and a real pleasure to work with.” “.. incredible in terms of his ability to absorb folders of information and drill down to the key issues. He makes the instructing solicitor's job so much easier. He combines being calm, sensible and unflappable with a determined desire to win.”

"…a fantastic strategist, with an ability to see all the complexities of a case before they actually play out in court."

Recent cases include key Supreme Court decision of Mohamud v Morrisons [2016] AC 677 (‘close connection’ test for vicarious liability); M v A Highway Authority (liability settlement arising from catastrophic motorcycle vs. pothole collision); Z v K (six-figure approved settlement of challenging catastrophic injury claim arising from drunken joyriding); D v P NHS Trust (seven-figure lump sum/PP approved settlement arising from delayed spinal immobilisation, leading to quadriplegia); Y v L NHS Trust (ongoing high-value claim arising from alleged contamination of spinal anaesthetic causing arachnoiditis); W v K (seven-figure lump sum/PP approved settlement in GP claim arising from devastating subarachnoid haemorrhage); X v Y (high-value wrongful birth case for mother of child with severe global developmental delay); Z v A Trust (cerebral palsy: seven-figure lump sum/PP approved settlement); and several ongoing high-value claims involving delayed recognition/treatment of cauda equina syndrome.

Durham University.