Steven Weddle

Call:1977

Introduction and Contact details

Steven is listed as a leading Clinical Negligence junior in the Legal 500.

Steven is a personal injury and clinical negligence practitioner with a practice mainly comprising higher value claims.

From 1977 to 1990 Steven developed a wide court based practice in personal injury and general tort, crime, contract, family and landlord and tenant. He has experience in all courts up to, and including, the Court of Appeal giving him an excellent grounding in advocacy. Steven is a practical barrister with a thorough understanding of the commercial necessities driving solicitors’ practices. He is an adaptable advocate who relishes a good fight in Court whilst also having excellent negotiation skills leading to many satisfactorily negotiated settlements.

Having a sound knowledge of the French language he has been able to undertake work for French clients both in England and France.

He gives regular lectures to both barristers and solicitors on legal and practice topics. In the last year he has talked on Multipliers, Periodical Payments, Motor Claims, Fatal Accidents, Head Injury, Minimising and Maximising Claims, Occupiers Liability, Slippers and Trippers and Accidents at Work. Steven co authored ‘Basic Practice in Courts and Tribunals’ – a practical book guiding practitioners through different Court proceedings.

Steven has studied and trained as a Shiatsu practitioner gaining insight into practical therapies, anatomy and physiology, orthodox medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine. He is also a keen skier and cyclist who also rows on the Thames in an 11metre replica 18th century Thames Watermans’ Cutter.

Tel:    020 7242 2523 (switchboard)
Fax:   020 7691 1234
Email: steven.weddle@hardwicke.co.uk

INSURANCE

Steven’s Insurance practice focuses on clinical negligence and personal injury related matters. He has advised on conflict and coverage points in Permanent Health, Income Protection, Road Traffic and Health Cover disputes.
He has given advice on the enforceability of ATE agreements and the changes over recent years.

BTE & ATE

Steven regularly acts for Claimants bringing injury claims funded by Before the Event (BTE) policies and via conditional fee agreements (CFAs) backed by After the Event (ATE) insurance policies.

Clinical Negligence

Extensive experience gained from exposure to a wide range of clinical negligence issues such as:

Surgery

• Negligently performed surgery; emergency, routine and cosmetic
• Spinal manipulation leading to paralysis
• Failure of joint replacement surgery
• Nerve repair surgery resulting in paralysis
• Problems in laparoscopic procedures, particularly within the pericardium
• Piercing dura causing brain damage

General Practitioners

• Negligent misdiagnosis
• Dealing with addiction

Obstetrics and Gynaecology

• Complications in late pregnancy
• Delivery complications; injury to both mother and child
• Negligence surrounding an emergency Caesarian section
• Post birth ‘defects’ in the mother leading to incontinence
• Laparoscopic sterilisation
• Cerebral Palsy

Steve has also studied human anatomy and physiology for the purposes of his work and outside of the legal context whilst learning about Complementary Medical Practices and Traditional Chinese Medicine. He has worked on cases concerned with consent in complimentary medicine, particularly regarding acupuncture.

Training as a Shiatsu practitioner has given him insight into the practical requirements of the growing area of complementary medical practices.

Recent Work

• Manual manipulation leading to paralysis
• Alleged error in stitching after childbirth leading to faecal incontinence – liability disputed
• Piercing dura causing brain damage

Medical Malpractice

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

Surgery

• Failure to obtain consent
• Inadequate information for informed consent

General Practitioners

• Inadequate assessment including failure to recognise meningitis
• Failure to provide any appropriate advice
• Over prescribing

Hospital

• Failure to prevent infection
• Inadequate anticoagulation protocol
• Inadequate referral follow up system
• Cancer misdiagnosis; failed screening,

Personal Injury

His practice is in the High Court and County Courts as well as Coroners Inquests. His work covers the whole subject area, and has included:
• extensive neurological, orthopaedic and psychological involvement from motor accidents,
• accidents at work and medical problems.
• fatal accidents

Recent Work

• Spectator injury in Ice Hockey cases
• Personal Injury Trusts.
• Contributory negligence where the Claimant has Downs Syndrome,
• Reflex sympathetic dystrophy or Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome,
• Hysterical Conversion Disorder
• Failure to have amputation as failure to mitigate
• Industrial and nursing sensitisation to chemicals
• Salmonella outbreak with over 30 Claimants
• Physical and psychological head injury in CICB – just under £1 million recovered
• Paraplegia settled at £1 million
• Tetraplegia settled at £1,550,000 with liability disputed
• Hip injury requiring replacement – £750,000 recovered
• Dysexecutive function –£450,000 recovered
• Brain damage settled at £650,000
• Brachial plexus lesion - £1.2 million recovered
• Bilateral drop foot and brain injury - £1.6 million including periodical payments

Relevant Cases

Re A 2007
High Court case with a value of £1.6 million including periodical payments

Re M, CICB October 2001
Brain injury with secondary injury, award just over £1 million with Court of Protection Costs

Smith v Usherwood The Lawyer March 1999
Damage to the leg and as well as psychological damage

Russell v Nathan 1998 Kemp E3 – 027/2
Spinal injury

McBride v Nestle 1997 Kemp I3 – 035
Injury to an ankle

Fuller v Haymills 1997  Kemp I4-016
Injury to an ankle, an involved a ‘Smith v Manchester’ award

PUBLIC LAW

Steven’s Public Law practice focuses on inquests.

Inquests

From an early point in his career he attended and appeared at a wide variety of inquests. Many relating to road traffic accidents initially but also motor defects, accidents at work, and suspicious circumstances.
Among the more interesting ones have been deaths arising out of:

• Medical problems due to a failed device during surgery.
• A cyclist colliding with a rollerblader in Hyde Park.
• Failure of scaffolding boards.
• Cyclist trapped against railings by HGV.
• Debated cause of death when a passenger had a heart attack within 24 hours of a collision.