Robin Oppenheim QC

Robin Oppenheim QC is a specialist in the fields of clinical negligence, product liability and personal injury work.

He is cited as a leading silk by Chambers & Partners and Legal 500. He appears in the top band for silks in Chambers and Partners 2009 for clinical negligence and product liability. He is described there as ' "an utterly superb practitioner" who regularly receives the highest accolades...Solicitors acknowledge his "frightening intelligence and amazing capacity for detail." "Always at the cutting edge," he is particularly known for his "hardnosed cross-examinations."

Robin's clinical negligence and personal injury work is focussed upon maximum severity injury claims relating to adult brain and spinal injury and acquired brain injury in children, acting principally for claimants. He has extensive experience in relation to the assessment of damages in maximum severity injury claims, claims involving mental health and Human Rights Act issues, consideration of community care issues and periodical payments issues. He has appeared in the landmark quantum cases of Tameside HA -v- Thompstone and others [2008] EWCA Civ 5 (indexation of periodical payments) and Heil -v- Rankin [2000] 2 WLR 1173 (general damages).

Last year Robin acted for the claimant in Leeson -v- Marsden [2008] EWHC 1011, one of the first successful challenges to the application of the rule in Horton -v- Sadler [2006] UKHL 27 permitting claims in second actions where the first claim was struck out for non-compliance with court rules. He also acted for successful claimants in two contested GP negligence trials in 2008 (Langdon -v- Williams [2008] EWHC 741; Goby -v- Ferguson [2009] EWHC 92).

Robin has a particular expertise in product liability. He currently acts for the claimants in Fetal Anti Convulsant litigation, a group action brought in respect of children damaged by exposure to sodium valproate in utero. He also acts for the claimants in the Haemophilia litigation bringing claims within the UK for HIV and Hepatitis C infection against US blood manufacturers and acts for claimants who suffered significant autoimmune injuries in the high profile Northwick Park drug trial. Other group litigation he is currently instructed in are a group claim on behalf of Parkinson's disease sufferers who developed pathological gambling allegedly as a result of use of Dopamine agonist drugs and multi party travel litigation claims. Robin has been involved in many of the major multi-party actions in the last few years, such as Alder Hey Organ retention, MMR2, Vioxx, Oral Contraceptive Pill litigation, Tobacco, Myodil and Benzodiazepine group actions.

He also undertakes professional negligence actions arising out of personal injury and clinical negligence claims.

Other recent cases:

• Thompstone indexation hearings [2008] EWCA Civ 5, [2008] EWHC 2424 QB, [2008] EWHC 2948;
• Richards -v- Swansea NHS Trust [2007] EWHC 487 (QB) (30 minute rule for caesarean sections);
• RH -v- United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust [2007] EWHC 1441 (QB) (indexation and periodical payments).

Robin is a contributor to the Damages section in the APIL Personal Injury Law, Practice and Precedents and Personal Injury Manual, Jordans 2006. He wrote the section on multi-party actions in Bullen, Leake and Jacob, Sweet and Maxwell, 2007. He is a contributing author to the PIBA Personal Injury Manual. He is on the Experts Committee of the Civil Justice Council. He is a part time tribunal judge for the First Tier Tribunal, Criminal Injuries Compensation. He is a regular lecturer and has published a number of articles on selected topics in human rights law, product liability, personal injury and clinical negligence law in Clinical Risk and Journal of Personal Injury Law.

He is a member of AVMA, PIBA, PNBA and Justice.

Year of Call

1988

Queen's Counsel

2006

Education

BA (Hons) First Class

Email Address

r.oppenheim@doughtystreet.co.uk

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Specialist Teams

Member :

• Human Rights
• Medical Law & Personal Injury Team
• Mental Health