Shoosmiths LLP

Personal Injury - CAT team.

Chris is a Partner and leads the Personal Injury team at Shoosmiths. He qualified as a solicitor in 1984.

Ranked as a notable practitioner by Chambers, and a recommended lawyer by the Legal 500 Chris has been undertaking personal injury claims for more than 30 years and only act for the victims of accidents. He acts for individuals who have suffered life changing injuries.

Chris provides support to his clients and their families from his first instruction to the end of their claim making sure he is available and accessible to them. Most of his instructions come from personal referrals from existing and former clients and other professionals.

Brain injury

Chris has a particular interest and specialism in brain injury claims and has won numerous £ million compensation claims for the victims of such accidents, and several multi-million pound claims. He is currently instructed in more than a dozen such claims.

He is a member of the Headway Panel and a trustee and company secretary of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Headway.

Spinal injury

Chris has an expertise in spinal injury cases and has acted for clients who have suffered both quadriplegic and paraplegic injuries, and has negotiated settlement of claims both on a lump sum and annual payments basis. He is currently instructed in a number of spinal cord injury claims of the utmost severity.

Amputation injuries

Chris has undertaken many claims for inured people who have suffered amputation injuries and catastrophic injuries that have resulted in surgical amputations.

Advocacy

Chris carries out much of his own advocacy, and regularly appear as an advocate in inquests and in the county and High Court.

Testimonials

"My Solicitor has been brilliant from the beginning through to the end.  He helped and guided me through the many ups and downs of a 5 1/2 year compensation claim which was extremely stressful.  Nothing ever seemed too difficult, no question was ever deemed to be too trivial, deadlines were always met well in advance, and every stage, however complicated and confusing, was handled professionally but also compassionately." (Sally Francis)

“The situation I have been involved in has been overwhelming and having such good support from Mr McKinney was the stability I needed and guidance” (Michelle Aveyard)

“Exceptional service, knowledge, approachability. Professionalism of the highest order” (Wayne Smith).

“From the initial meeting to discuss my case I felt that I was being dealt with as a person rather than a reference number. All queries I had were answered promptly and thoroughly I would have no hesitation in recommending Shoosmiths” (Will Stephens)

“Thank you for everything you have done for me over the last few years. You made a stressful time feel easy to understand” (John Quinn).

"Thank you! Chris and his team at Shoosmiths have both been an amazing comfort and asset to have on our side. It’s been a pleasure working with you." (Chris Hadley)

“..would like to say thank you for all the work you have done and the result you got for me, I am so pleased its done with and now we can get on” (Paul Kavanagh).

“I wanted to send a personal email of thanks for all your hard work during the case.  From start to finish nothing was too much trouble and you demonstrated your wealth of knowledge and experience.  I think the service your team led by yourself provided was second to none.  I am most grateful for how you dealt with the case” (RH).

"From the very outset I had 100% confidence that I was in the best possible care with regards to my case. Chris's“I wanted to send a personal email of thanks for all your hard work during the case.  From start to finish nothing was too much trouble and you demonstrated your wealth of knowledge and experience.  I think the service your team led by yourself provided was second to none.  I am most grateful for how you dealt with the case”. empathy, clear communication and professionalism were all excellent and I know I had the best possible outcome" (Cathryn Hancock).

‘Chris McKinney has always been excellent. He provides comprehensive and clear advice and is obviously very knowledgeable. He is also very pleasant to deal with, both by email and telephone’. Legal 500 2022.

"His advice is always relevant, timely and personal. He clearly knows his area of expertise inside out” Chambers 2022."

‘Chris McKinney has been leading my case and he is exceptional. His communications are professional and clear, but also easy to understand from a lay person’s perspective. It is clear that he brings with him a huge amount of experience in this area and in discussions we have had during the course of my claim, he has explained all options available to me in a very open and understandable way’. Legal 500 2023.

Chris McKinney is one of the best claimant PI solicitors out there. He never fails to get results for his clients, who universally adore him. He's very reassuring and technically able." Chambers 2023.

My case was headed up by Chris McKinney, his depth of knowledge in personal injury claims and rehabilitation was extremely vast. From start to finish I felt comforted that Chris Mckinney and his team had my best interests in hand. Anytime I wanted to speak to Chris I had his personal mobile phone number’. Legal 500 2024

Chris McKinney is one of the finest serious injury lawyers in the country. Highly experienced and someone who will never stop fighting for his clients – he cannot be recommended highly enough Legal 500 2024

"He's one of the best lawyers in the country for claimant work." Chambers 2024

I qualified as a solicitor in 1984. I joined  Shoosmiths in July 2010. I was previously a partner at Ironsides and Nelsons Solicitors.

Chris is a member of the Spinal Injuries Association, Headway Panel and the Professional Negligence Association.