England - London • Insurance

Bolt Burdon Kemp LLP

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The personal injury team at Bolt Burdon Kemp LLP is led by Jonathan Wheeler, and operates as a cross-departmental group, with specialist teams focusing on adult brain injury, child brain injury, spinal injury, military claims, abuse, and complex injury; the firm also has growing expertise regarding bullying and harassment issues. ‘Incredibly shrewd tactician’ Ahmed Al-Nahhas leads the military claims team, and has experience handling cases with sensitive elements including racial harassment, sexual assault and suicide. The abuse team is led by solicitor-advocate David McClenaghan, who has notable expertise in historical sexual abuse claims and those in a religious setting. Joshua Hughes leads the complex injury team, which covers road traffic accidents, accidents at work and injuries in a healthcare setting. Spinal injury specialist Victoria Oliver ‘blends tactical acumen with compassion in a way that is unique’.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'Bolt Burdon Kemp have a very strong team in this field. They have true depth of knowledge and expertise and also genuinely care about their clients as people. Their systems are very efficient and they make use of technology effectively.'
  • 'Jonathan Wheeler leads the firm very effectively with a firm grasp on business matters together with genuine care and concern for the clients and the individuals working for the firm.'
  • 'Ahmed Al-Nahhas is a superb lawyer - an incredibly shrewd tactician who knows the subject of military law inside out.'
  • 'The Bolt Burdon Kemp team is superb at communicating in a timely manner and keeping us updated and aware of issues and their resolution. They are hugely diverse and very much put their client at the heart of everything.' 
  • 'Bolt Burdon Kemp is a specialist firm dealing with injury claims. The small, dedicated team punch well above their weight and can be relied upon to deliver results, even in the most difficult and technical claims.'
  • 'Forensic eye for detail, client focused and a collaborative team approach.'
  • 'Ahmed Al-Nahhas leads the military team. Ahmed is totally dedicated to securing the best result for his clients but is also pragmatic and is very good with vulnerable clients. Victoria Oliver leads the spinal team and is also very client-focused, very empathetic and an excellent team player.'
  • 'Victoria Oliver is a partner of the utmost skill, integrity and empathy. She blends tactical acumen with compassion in a way that is unique.'

Work highlights

  • Represented a child sexual abuse survivor at the Supreme Court after the defendant appealed a victory decision for the client, confirming that religious organisations can be held responsible for their leaders’ actions.
  • Secured £10m for a 21-year-old client left paralysed after a road traffic accident.
  • Representing a service-person in a case involving PTSD, racial harassment and sexual assault.

Lawyers

Leading individuals

Ahmed Al-Nahhas

Ahmed Al-Nahhas

Bolt Burdon Kemp LLP

Ahmed is Head of the Military Claims Team and a Partner and Solicitor-Advocate. SAhmed manages high value personal injury and clinical negligence claims, often involving serious accidents suffered by service personnel during training or through failures to treat and rehabilitate.  He ensures that all his clients are seen at an early stage by the right medical experts, so that their injuries can be fully investigated, an assessment made of their future needs and a strategy agreed for the successful progression of their claims. As an experienced Solicitor-Advocate, Ahmed often appears in the High Court to represent his clients.  He has led our work defending the rights of service personnel in the workplace against poor conditions, bullying, discrimination and harassment.  He has an in depth understanding of service complaint procedures and will advise clients all the way through to appeal stages and beyond.  He is passionate about protecting the rights of women and minorities in the armed forces. A keen negotiator, Ahmed achieves the best possible outcome for his clients, whether that means a valuable pre-action settlement or a fight for compensation at court.  He has provided training to experts and solicitors about the nature of military claims, case management, strategy and negotiation. Ahmed has led ground-breaking litigation in his field, including: Having conduct of the first ever settlement in England and Wales relating to injuries caused by the wrongful prescription of Lariam (mefloquine), the anti-malarial drug. Billett v MoD– a case involving Non-Freezing Cold Injury (NFCI), which explored the principles of how to assess damages for disabled Claimants and which continues to be a leading case. Broni, Woof and Barbour v MoD – a case which successfully argued that service personnel should not be treated in law as ‘employees’ for the purposes of assessing legal costs. Ahmed is an active member of Forces Law, a national network of lawyers who specialise in advising service personnel about their legal rights. He has authored “A Practical Guide to Military Claims”, the first legal guide for practitioners which deals exclusively with this specialist field. As a legal and subject matter expert, Ahmed has been invited to give evidence before Parliament and provides regular contributions to stories in the national press on the welfare of service personnel.  He supports a number of military charities to help raise awareness about these issues. In March 2021, Ahmed gave evidence to the Defence Select Committee which looked at the experiences faced by women in the military and female veterans.

David McClenaghan

Bolt Burdon Kemp LLP

David joined Bolt Burdon Kemp in 2010. He became partner in 2015 and is head of the firm's Abuse team. He specialises in bringing compensation claims on behlaf of survivors of sexual abuse. He has successfully brought claims on behlf of clients who have suffered abuse at the hands of Scout leaders, Boys’ Brigade Captains, clergymen (Roman Catholic Church, Church of England, Church in Wales, Evangelical Church), youth club leaders, teachers, sports coaches, foster carers, care home staff and family members. David is a solicitor advocate and regularly appears in the High Court and CICA Tribunal on behalf of his clients. He frequently appears in the national broadcast and print media providing expert commentary on child abuse law and issues. Reported cases include: GLB v TH [2012] ALL ER D 329, as advocate, David secured his client one of the highest-ever awards of general damaged in a child abuse compensation claim; CXX v DXX [2012] ALL ER (D) 22, clarified the law in respect of whether or not a defendant who has been convicted of an offence is permitted to deny that offence in a subsequent civil claim; FZO v Haringey [2019] EWHC 1286 (QB) representing a child abuse survivor who was awarded a record-breaking £1.1 million in damages. 

Next Generation Partners

Joshua Hughes

Bolt Burdon Kemp LLP

Josh is a Partner and Head of the Complex Injury team at Bolt Burdon Kemp. Since qualification in 2012, Josh has specialised in representing people with serious injuries. Working on behalf of both adults and children, he has developed considerable expertise in complex and/or high value personal injury and medical negligence claims. Josh has a particular interest in acting for clients who have sustained life-changing orthopaedic injuries including amputations as well as claims involving fatalities. In addition, Josh is experienced in conducting matters involving missed and delayed medical diagnoses, negligent surgery and lack of informed consent. Josh is an accredited Senior Litigator with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers. He is regularly asked to appear on national radio and television covering stories relevant to his role.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Jonathan Wheeler

Other key lawyers

Ahmed Al-Nahhas, David McClenaghan, Cheryl Abrahams, Joshua Hughes, Victoria Oliver, Jessica Standley, Rhiannon Daniel