Hugh Preston QC

Product Liability

Hugh is ranked as a leading new silk by Chambers and Partners (in the current edition ranked as one of the top 7 juniors in the country prior to taking silk) and the Legal 500, in the specialist field of Product Liability involving medical and other products.    

Prior to taking silk Hugh recently appeared in the ECJ in O’Byrne v Aventis Pasteur, acting alone against two QCs in a major product liability ruling, subsequently returning to the Supreme Court in 2010.  This is the first product liability claim under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 ever to have reached this level.

He is currently instructed in 3 major product liability group actions acting for several hundred claimants in the PIP breast implant litigation,a similar number in the DePuy ASR hip implant litigation and an emerging group in the Cervarix vaccine damage claims.  

He is also instructed in a large number of claims involving other metal on metal hip prostheses and has developed a particular reputation for dealing with complex product liability litigation arising from hip prostheses generally.  

Hugh is best known for his claimant practice but he also undertakes defendant work, having recently provided comprehensive advice to a major US/global medical device manufacturer as to how litigation risk in Europe can best be minimised, and he is presently acting for a device manufacturer in ongoing litigation.  He is happy to accept instructions from overseas clients and has significant experience of personal injury litigation involving complex jurisdictional and cross border issues.    

What the directories say:

“one of the foremost juniors in the field” (Legal 500 UK 2011)

“a serious player in this field with a growing reputation .... he has a very subtle and tactful approach that’s well thought through, and he also proves very good with clients” (Chambers and Partners 2012)

 “charming and unshowy" (Chambers and Partners 2011)

"hard working, bright and without a whiff of pretence” (Chambers and Partners 2010)

“sound, sensible and knows what he’s doing” (Legal 500 UK 2009)

Recent Product Liability cases

• DePuy ASR hip litigation (various firms each with groups of claimants) (ongoing)
• PIP breast implant litigation (various firm each with groups of claimants) (ongoing)
•  ECJ ruling on House of Lords reference re. time limits in product liability claims (O’Byrne v Aventis Pasteur).   Hearing in Luxembourg in June 2009, Supreme Court 2010.   Click here for case summary
• Iraq litigation:   A number of high value (£1m+) personal injury claims against private security companies operating in Iraq, in which it is alleged that devices and equipment supplied for use by security operatives were inadequate or unsafe [ongoing].
• Cervarix vaccine damage claims (ongoing).
• ABG1 prosthetic hips litigation (2008)

Memberships

• AVMA
• Personal Injury Bar Association