Mary Duncan, partner and head of personal injury
Specialises in handling substantial high value cases, and has particular expertise in clinical negligence, fatal accidents, and brain injury cases. She also deals with professional negligence disputes involving negligence claims arising out of personal injury actions.
Mary’s significant cases include:
- £10 million professional negligence claim arising from failure to serve a claim form in time in a substantial brain injury case. Settled for £1.6 million.
- £1.89 million professional negligence claim against solicitors arising from their negligent handling of a personal injury claim by a deep sea diver. Settled for £45,000
- Successful defence at trial of an allegation of under settlement of a clinical negligence brain injury claim.
- Until recently Mary has been working on the TAG litigation on behalf of the vetting solicitors. This has included organising the review and assessment of over 300 personal injury claims from a professional negligence perspective by the personal injury team, an extensive disclosure exercise and participation in negotiations.
Mary trained at Henmans and qualified as a solicitor in 1983. She spent two years at Greenwoods and rejoined us in 1985. She has been a partner since 1989.
Mary is accredited by the Law Society as a personal injury specialist and is a member of Oxford's Medico-Legal Society. Chambers ranks her in its top tier for personal injury and in its 2008 edition described her as 'absolutely outstanding'. She is joint author of Fatal Accident Claims, author of a chapter in Trauma Care, A Team Approach, joint author of Health and Safety at Work Essentials and Professional Negligence, A Second Bite at the Cherry?
Paul handles all types of personal injury claims, including road traffic accidents, employer’s liability, public liability and product liability matters.
Paul specialises in employer’s liability claims involving industrial disease. These include asbestos, VWF/HAVS and asthma type claims. Paul also handles Health & Safety Executive prosecutions and has considerable experience in public liability matters particularly highway claims.
Paul also acts for insurers dealing with solicitors’ professional negligence disputes involving negligence claims arising out of personal injury actions.
Paul’s significant cases include:
- Under-settlement claim arising from a tripping incident for £300,000 that settled at mediation for £40,000.
- Claim arising from a failed stress at work claim for £360,000 that settled at mediation for £50,000.
- Several mesothelioma claims for large motor manufacturers.
- Numerous successful defences at trial of public liability highway claims for a local authority.
Paul trained at Henmans and qualified in 1998. He was made an associate in 2004 and a partner in 2008.
Paul is accredited by the Law Society as a personal injury specialist, is a member of Oxford’s Medico-Legal Society and the Reading Chartered Insurance Institute.
Consultant
Anthony has recently ceased fee earning work. He previously dealt with substantial personal injury claims including road traffic accidents, accidents at work, Health & Safety Executive prosecutions and public and product liability claims. He specialised in deafness and explosion cases and professional indemnity litigation, particularly professional negligence disputes involving solicitors. He was responsible for creating a deafness claim scheme in the 1990s and has been involved in a further deafness scheme in 2004/2005.
Anthony trained at Hextall Erskine and qualified in 1964. He spent ten years in the City before joining Henmans as a partner in 1967. He was senior partner for 28 years and was a deputy district judge of the High Court and County Court for eight years.
Previous comments from the directories include:
“respected for taking a constructive approach to concluding litigation.” Chambers 2005
“imaginative and very knowledgeable” Chambers 2006
Irvin Thobourne, associate litigation executive
Handles all personal injury claims, specialising in road traffic accidents, employers’ and public liability claims. He has particular expertise in claims involving the MIB.
Irvin worked for four years at Shoosmiths, specialising in personal injury. He joined Henmans in 1997 and was made an associate in 2002. Irvin has used his specialist experience to develop SolCase, the team’s bespoke case management system. He is a member of the Oxford Medico-Legal Society.
Heads the personal injury pre-litigation unit where he is responsible for motor, public liability and employer's liability claims investigation, interviewing witnesses and undertaking locus reports. He currently runs an Industrial Deafness scheme for a major insurer through which he has handled upwards of 3000 claims.
Dave was formerly technical claims manager of Eagle Star and has 30 years experience within the insurance industry. While at Eagle Star he handled motor, employers liability claims investigation, public liability and household claims at branch and head office level. He was responsible for setting and auditing service standards for service suppliers within the insurance industry. He is an Associate Member of the Chartered Insurance Institute and a Chartered Insurer.
Jane handles all types of personal injury claims, including road traffic accident claims, accidents at work and public liability claims. She has also successfully brought claims for contribution/indemnity against third parties in both road traffic accidents and employers liability claims.
Jane also has experience in dealing with Health & Safety Executive prosecutions.
Jane’s notable claims include:
- Defence of several claims arising out of accident involving a minibus carrying factory workers, including claim by dependant spouse of deceased immigrant worker.
- Successful recovery at trial of insurer’s outlay under s.151 Road Traffic Act 1988 dealing with a road traffic insurer’s obligations under the Act and subsequent right of recovery in a case in which the defendant alleged that the claimant had obtained judgment against the wrong party.
- Claim for contribution to insurer’s outlay following accident involving an agency worker engaged to hire a fork lift truck.
- Defending several claims arising from accidents at leisure centres and theme parks.
Jane also acts for insurers in professional negligence disputes against solicitors arising out of personal injury claims and in medical malpractice claims, including alleged negligent cosmetic surgery and chiropractic treatment.
Jane trained at Henmans and qualified in 2003. She was made an Associate in 2009. Jane is accredited by the Law Society as a personal injury specialist and a member of the Reading Chartered Insurance Institute. She is also a member of the Oxford Medico-Legal Society.
Joanne handles all types of personal injury claims including accidents at work, public liability matters and road traffic accidents. She currently specialises in employer’s liability claims and she has considerable experience in dealing with disease claims, in particular vibration white finger and carpel tunnel syndrome claims.
She has also been involved in defending HSE prosecutions and has assisted in professional negligence claims against solicitors arising out of personal injury cases.
Joanne has arranged and attended settlement meetings by way of alternative dispute resolution achieving timely economic results for her clients.
Joanne’s successes include:
- Numerous discontinuances and drop hands settlements achieved in claims for carpel tunnel syndrome and RSI
- Numerous successful appeals to the Compensation Recovery Unit
- Claim resulting from an accident at work allegedly causing a back injury claimed at £85,000 settled for £5,000.
Joanne trained at Everatt & Co qualifying in 2006. She joined Henmans in May 2006 as an assistant solicitor.
Joanne provides regular pro bono advice at the local Citizens Advice Bureau. She is a member of the Oxford Medico-legal Society, the BB&O Law Society and the Reading Chartered Insurance