Mr Christopher Melton KC KC > Chambers of Winston Hunter KC > Manchester, England > Barrister Profile
Byrom Street Chambers Offices
Byrom Street Chambers
12 BYROM STREET
MANCHESTER
M3 4PP
England
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Mr Christopher Melton KC KC
Work Department
Personal injury, clinical negligence.
Position
Christopher Melton KC is a standout silk who excels at representing claimants in high-value catastrophic injury and fatal accident cases, particularly those involving minors. He does a significant amount of appellate advocacy and has appeared in the Supreme Court numerous times.
His Supreme Court cases are:
Armes v Nottinghamshire CC where the Appellant is seeking to establish that a LA owes a non-delegable duty or is vicariously liable in respect of sexual abuse perpetrated by a foster parent.
Woodland v Essex CC where the Claimant successfully established that a LA owed a non-delegable duty to a child brain damaged by the negligence of a non-employee swimming teacher.
Dunhill v Burgin where the Claimant successfully established that the settlement of a claim was invalid where the Claimant lacked litigation capacity, even where the Defendant had no knowledge of her incapacity.
Sienkiewiz v Greif where the Claimant successfully established liability on the basis that her mother’s mesothelioma was caused by negligence, even though the risk of contracting the disease was only slightly increased by the relevant exposure.
His Court of Appeal cases include:
Sabir v Osei-Kwabena, where the Claimant successfully resisted the Defendant’s appeal against a 25% contributory negligence finding against a pedestrian;
McCracken v Bell, where a brain injured pillion passenger on off road trials bike being unlawfully ridden on cycle path successfully resisted an appeal by the third party driver;
Waterhouse v Welsh, where the CA rejected a surgeon’s appeal against findings of negligence
Nunnerley v Warrington HA, where the CA refused the Defendant’s application for permission to appeal in a twin wrongful birth case, holding that damages were recoverable beyond the child’s age of 21.
Career
Called 1982, Gray’s Inn; KC 2001; Recorder; Advanced Advocacy Trainer for the Northern Circuit and for the renowned Keble College International Advocacy Course.
Languages
French
Memberships
PNBA
PIBA
Education
Manchester Grammar School; Bristol University.
Lawyer Rankings
Regional Bar > Northern Circuit > Clinical negligence
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Christopher Melton KC – Byrom Street Chambers ‘Christopher is one of the most experienced silks conducting complex, high-value clinical negligence cases. He is extremely experienced, reliable, and calm under pressure, and he has a wonderful manner with clients, always putting them at ease and showing great empathy.’
Byrom Street Chambers is praised as ‘a fantastic set with a range of expertise in clinical negligence cases’. It is home to head of chambers Winston Hunter KC, and he is especially skilled in handling clinical negligence cases with complex issues of medical causation, as well as birth-related claims. Christopher Melton KC has appeared before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, and Darryl Allen KC is another key name; he successfully represented the claimant in Astley v Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in which the negligent failure to accurately monitor the claimant’s heart rate led to severe brain damage. Rhiannon Jones KC has a particular interest in tortious personal injuries that are subsequently treated negligently and thus lead to clinical negligence claims, while Simon Kilvington KC has substantial expertise in birth injury and cerebral palsy claims. Mary Ruck KC is well-equipped to handle claims that involve psychiatrically-injured and vulnerable claimants. David Heaton KC has now retired from practice.
Regional Bar > Northern Circuit > Personal injury
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Christopher Melton KC – Byrom Street Chambers ‘Christopher is absolutely superb and a go-to choice of leading counsel every time. Totally reassuring for clients, calm and collected no matter how difficult the case, and he instils absolute confidence in the entire team.’
Byrom Street Chambers boast ‘highly experienced personal injury barristers‘, including head of chambers Winston Hunter KC who frequently handles a range of high-value personal injury disputes. Christopher Melton KC has appeared before the Supreme Court on numerous occasions, and Darryl Allen KC represented the defendant in a personal injury claim after a learner motorcyclist underwent an upper arm amputation following a motorcycle accident on a training ride while with one of the defendant’s instructors (Evans V A1 Motorcycle Training And Sales Ltd). Rhiannon Jones KC is instructed by claimants and defendants alike, with particular expertise in spinal and brain injury cases, as well as amputation claims. Fatal injury claims and cases regarding exposure to asbestos are areas of strength for Simon Kilvington KC, while Peter Burns KC specialises in catastrophic injury claims. Of recent note, he represented the defendant in Marks v Saddlers Land & Property Ltd, a personal injury claim in which the claimant fell down the stairs and was rendered tetraplegic. Among the set’s juniors, Michael Lemmy is experienced in representing both claimants and defendants, including in the Court of Appeal.