John Gallagher

Introduction & Contact details

John Gallagher has a broad practice with experience in professional indemnity and malpractice, clinical negligence, personal injury, general contract and insurance claims, public law and disciplinary tribunal inquiries.

John is listed in the Legal 500 and has been praised as ‘very able, he knows his law and tactics’.

Qualifications

• 1969-1972 King’s College, University of London
• 1970 Masom Scholar in Classics
• 1972 BA Classics, AKC Theology
• 1974 Called to the Bar, Gray's Inn 1999 Appointed Professional member of the Sports Dispute Resolution Panel
• 1990 Appointed to the Bar Council panel to prosecute cases for the Professional Conduct Committee before the Bar Disciplinary Tribunal.
• 1995 Assistant Recorder, Crown Court
• 2000 Recorder, Crown Court
• 2000 Recorders “Civil” ticket
• 2005 Chancellor, Diocese of Rochester

Professional Associations

• Bar Sports Group
• London Commercial and Common Law Bar Association
• Personal Injuries Bar Association
• Professional Negligence Bar Association
• South Eastern Circuit

T:     020 7242 2523 (switchboard)
DDI: 020 7691 0109 
F:     020 7691 1234    
E:     john.gallagher@hardwicke.co.uk

Commercial

John’s Commercial practice comprises matters relating to medium to large size commercial and contractual disputes.

Recent Work

• Action by a company specialising in providing distance learning projects against a UK university.
• Action by a charitable trust against a major U.K. university.  Action settled successfully by mediation in early 2011.

Further Relevant Cases

ASM v Adelphi Hotels Ltd. [2002] AC 960504
Dispute concerning the termination of a contract.

Ecclesiastical Law

John Gallagher is the Diocesan Chancellor of Rochester and Deputy Chancellor of Chelmsford.  His practice covers ecclesiastical matters and he appeared most recently for the successful petitioners in Re Ashford St. Mary the Virgin, in the Commissary Court of the Diocese of Canterbury.  He is also presently instructed in a clergy disciplinary tribunal proceeding in Ireland.

Arbitration

John is experienced in arbitration and mediation.

Companies & Partnerships

John’s practice encompasses a large number of interesting and wide-ranging facets.  He has extensive experience of contract and transactional cases and has acted for a range of different clients across different jurisdictions.

Relevant Cases

ASM v Adelphi Hotels Ltd. [2002] AC 960054

John advises and represents clients on all areas of partnership law, including partnership agreements, LLPs, dissolution and insolvency.

Insurance

John’s practice covers the whole of Insurance law and he accepts instructions from all kinds of clients.  John has acted on all sides of the insurance world, including representation for Lloyd’s underwriters, insurers and mutual insurance associations, brokers and assureds.

All Risks

John is highly experienced with the construction and interpretation of insurance policies.  He has particular expertise advising in construction and project insurance.

BTE & ATE

He is experienced in the use of ‘Before the Event’ and ‘After the Event’ policies.

Clinical Negligence

John’s practice also encompasses Clinical Negligence, for which he has received significant commendation.

He has gained a large amount of experience, gained from exposure to a wide range of medical malpractice issues such as:

• Failure to obtain consent or adequately explain procedures.
• Over-prescribing.
• Hospital procedural failures.

Recent Work

• During 2006, he acted for the claimant in an action against the Health Authority where liability and causation were bitterly disputed in a case where a woman killed herself whilst in a secure ward in hospital.  Shortly before trial, breach of duty of care and then, later causation, were admitted, with the result the claim was settled on a 100% liability basis.
• Claim for a claimant who has been left effectively without a hip as a result of infection setting in after surgery.

Construction & Engineering

This subject area is naturally tied into John’s commercial practice representing clients in construction and engineering issues.  His work has included representing clients successfully in highly complex and expensive disputes.

Employer’s Liablity

John accepts instructions in this subject area, particularly in relation to industrial and construction companies.

Fire Damage

He has been instructed on numerous fire damage, flood and subsidence claims.

Health & Safety

This subject area naturally overlaps with John’s work in fire damage, employer’s and occupier’s liability and construction and engineering. He is well versed in all applicable European legislation and recommendations relating to health and safety.

Occupier’s Liability

John has experience representing both those who have suffered personal injury through negligent maintenance of sites and those who require representation in defending such claims.

Personal Injury

John has extensive experience of personal injury compensation claims, including industrial disease, injuries of maximum severity, all forms of industrial injury/accidents at work, road traffic accidents and sporting injury claims.

He also conducts insurance backed criminal work linked to personal injury cases, i.e. death by dangerous driving and health and safety matters.

Recent Work

• In January 2007 he concluded a claim for a brain damaged claimant where damages of £5.75m were approved by the court.

Relevant Cases

Thorpe v Hunt 30th Jan 2007
Canterbury District Registry case, heard by HHJ Mitchell. The case was a £5.75m settlement approved for a brain damaged claimant

White v Jeanes, 11th Jan 2004 RCJ,
Heard by Cox J, this case was settled at Court for £2.75m for a brain damaged claimant

Spencer v Boots 2002 EWCA Civ 1691. Personal injuries: upper limb disorder.

R v Turpin
Heard in Reading Crown Court, and involved death by dangerous driving, involving automatism and hypoglycaemia.

Inquiries & Inquests

John’s cases have involved advising and drafting documents in order to pursue administrative avenues for clients.

Product Liability

John has represented many clients in this subject area.

Recent Work

• In 2006 John was instructed to defend a case of product liability where the manufacturers of a free standing ladder were being sued.

John is a highly capable practitioner in insurance issues.  His expertise includes issues such as:

• Dual retainer
• Conflicting duties to clients
• Declining cover
• Acting under reservation of rights

Public Liability

John has represented as well as opposed cases involving local authorities who have failed to discharge their statutory duties. This area naturally overlaps with his personal injury speciality.

Road Traffic

John is highly experienced in all aspects of road traffic accidents and the issues arising from them including:

• personal injury through negligent driving
• contributory negligence of passengers
• brain damaged patients

Professional Negligence

John Gallagher has a substantial practice with significant experience of professional negligence.

Recent Work

• Acting in a claim for £180m trial of which commenced in February 2007 and was finally resolved in December 2008.
• Defended a claim arising out of alleged negligence in advising and agreeing terms for the lease of land for Car Parking arrangements at an international airport.
• Defended in a matter in May 2007 in which a bank, solicitors, estate agents, and valuers were all being sued over the sale of what is described as “the largest palace in private hands in Europe, if not the world”.
• In April 2006, he concluded an action in negligence for the claimant against a geotechnical engineer who failed to advise properly on the status of a garden on the South coast, with the result that 120 feet of garden and the house fell down the cliff over a period of 2 years.

Relevant Cases

Earl of Malmesbury v Strutt & Parker and Others [2007] PNLR 570
Professional negligence claim for c£180m

Professional Discipline & Regulation

John has a wide experience of internal disciplinary enquiry work, including appearances before solicitors, chartered accountants, chartered surveyors, local authorities’ tribunals, Medical Research Council and the like.

He has been a professional member of the Sports Resolution Panel for a number of years acted on the panel for the Bar Council to prosecute cases for the Professional Conduct Committee before the Bar Disciplinary Tribunal.

Sports Law

He has been instructed in a wide variety of cases involving sports disputes, contractual claims, injuries, disciplinary inquiries and the like.  In particular, he has:

• Acted as a professional member of the Sports Dispute Resolution Panel.
• A particular expertise in challenging the revocation of firearm and shotgun certificates.  He has written and lectured extensively on the subject.
• Experience of professional football and boxing disciplinary inquiries.
• Been instructed on behalf of a premier division footballer and two rugby internationals over insurance claims for injuries which curtailed or ended their careers.
• Been instructed on behalf of a jockey seriously injured in a steeplechase.
• Successfully defended a school sued by a pupil for injury sustained in a diving accident.
• Been instructed on behalf of a number of claimants injured in such incidents as horse riding accidents, gymnastics claims, tennis classes, badminton competitions, and cricket matches.

He is an experienced horse rider in show jumping and dressage, a qualified London Society Rugby Union referee, a qualified cricket coach, and President of the H.A.C. Cricket Club and a member of M.C.C.