Rachel’s work focuses on representing vulnerable individuals seeking redress against the state and private organisations in healthcare related matters.
Rachel is able to bring her expertise in personal injury and clinical negligence matters to the rest of her practice, especially in actions against the police and public authorities. Her work often involves the intersection between issues of negligence and breaches of the Human Rights Act. She is instructed by the Claimant in the case of Lewis-Ranwell v G4S Health Services (UK) Ltd and Others, which was heard in the Supreme Court earlier this year.
Rachel has experience of working in Group Litigation matters and is currently instructed in the Hillsborough civil claims for misfeasance and on behalf of multiple groups of claimants in relation to their detention at Manston House Short-Term Holding Facility during 2022.
Rachel regularly acts for families in a wide range of inquests and is particularly experienced in cases involving community care, medical treatment and mental health considerations, often where Article 2 ECHR is engaged as a result of the deceased being in custody or detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.
Rachel was instructed on behalf of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru in the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry for Module 3, which looked at the impact of the pandemic on the healthcare systems.
Prior to commencing pupillage, Rachel was a paralegal to a senior junior barrister at a leading personal injury chambers in London, specialising in complex catastrophic personal injury and clinical negligence work. In this role, Rachel worked on multi-track litigation with a particular focus on cases involving traumatic brain injuries. As such, she gained experience working on a wide variety of work, including preparing Schedules of Losses for high value cases. She is able to bring this experience to her current work and is regularly instructed in both fast track and multi-track cases across a full breadth of personal injury and clinical negligence work.
Rachel is a contributing author to the APIL Personal Injury, Law, Practice and Precedents text and Munkman on Employer’s Liability.
Rachel accepts all types of personal injury work and is regularly instructed on multi-track matters in a range of cases, including road traffic accidents, public liability, employers’ liability and industrial disease claims. Rachel is currently instructed in multiple claims by former military personnel against the Ministry of Defence for hearing loss caused by exposure to excessive noise during their service. As well as advising on individual claims, she has advised on various strategic issues, including the response to applications by the MOD to stay claims pending the outcome of related litigation. She regularly advices on prospects of success and quantum and is able to bring her previous experience to high value claims.
Examples of recent cases include:
Rachel undertakes a broad range of clinical negligence work on behalf of claimants. She has been instructed as junior counsel (to Robin Oppenheim KC and Selena Plowden KC) in various claims, including those for catastrophic injury. Examples of recent cases include:
Rachel has particular expertise representing vulnerable claimants, including recent instructions for claims involving the provision of care to a victim of sexual assault and to individuals detained under the Mental Capacity Act.
Rachel accepts instructions in Court of Protection proceedings. She has experience of health and welfare matters under s.16 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and regularly represents parties involved in challenges to deprivations of liberty in care homes and hospitals under section 21A, having been instructed on behalf of P (via their litigation friends, including the Official Solicitor), family members and local authorities.
Rachel also accepts instructions in property and affairs matters and is well placed to advise on matters that intersect across both pathways. She has experience in dealing with complex financial deputyship applications.
Rachel is instructed in actions against the police and other public authorities, including claims for assault and battery, false imprisonment and trespass. She is able to bring her experience in both personal injury and public law and is familiar with claims under the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010.
She is able to assist in claims against public authorities for breaches of Article 2 ECHR, often arising out of inquests, and Article 5 ECHR, following periods of unlawful detention. Rachel has experience of drafting complex Schedules of Loss in these cases, assisted by her previous work in both personal injury and public law.
Rachel has experience of working in Group Litigation matters and is currently instructed in the Hillsborough civil claims for misfeasance and on behalf of multiple groups of claimants in relation to their detention at Manston House Short-Term Holding Facility during 2022.
Rachel represents bereaved families at inquests, in particular where there are issues around the provision of health services in the community, or the deceased was deprived of their liberty in hospital, prison or police custody.
She has worked with families across all stages of the inquest process to secure positive outcomes ahead of the final hearing, as well as being instructed as sole counsel and led as junior counsel in final hearings.
Recent cases include:
Rachel has a practice in public inquiries. She was instructed on the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, acting for Covid Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru in Module 3.
Rachel is currently instructed on behalf of the bereaved families in the Nottingham Inquiry, an independent statutory inquiry concerning the attacks in Nottingham on 13 June 2023.
Rachel has a strong academic background in public international law, having completed a specialist undergraduate degree in European and International Law. This included a year at the University of Geneva, where she undertook modules in conjunction with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
Rachel also worked as a Research Assistant for Greenpeace East Asia during this time, looking at systemic international legal challenges with a particular focus on the right to a healthy environment.
She is using this experience to develop her international human rights law practice and recently assisted with research for an international report into the treatment and detention of political prisoners.
