Hugh Preston

Hugh specialises in clinical negligence, product liability and personal injury litigation.   In the last 12 months he has been instructed in some of the leading cases in this field including two cases in the House of Lords, two in the Court of Appeal and one in the European Court of Justice.

His clinical negligence practice is Claimant-oriented and covers a wide range of claims including cerebral palsy cases, birth injuries, gynaecological injuries, eye injuries, orthopaedics, consent issues etc.   His personal injury practice is balanced between Claimant and Defendant work and he has particular experience of manual handling claims, work equipment cases, chronic pain syndromes and related disorders.   He also has experience of cross-jurisdictional issues and the international private security industry, in which he has developed a particularly strong profile.   Hugh’s product liability practice includes both medical products (notably those involving drugs and prostheses) and claims involving commercial and consumer products.    

Hugh also undertakes general commercial litigation including consumer contract cases, partnership disputes, sale of goods, employment and general contract law.

Recent cases
Leading case on time limits for product liability claims at European Court of Justice  & House of Lords  (O’Byrne v Aventis Pasteur) [2008]

Leading case on PUWER 1998 at House of Lords (Smith v Northamptonshire County Council) [2008]

ABG1 prosthetic hips group action (Ball etc. v Benoist Girard) [2008]

Iraq litigation: A number of claims by private security officers injured whilst carrying out close protection work in Iraq [2008]

Publications
Hugh writes on his areas of legal expertise, recent articles including:
Product Liability - Solicitors Journal (2006) 150, pp.878:879: discusses the ECJ ruling in O'Byrne & Aventis Pasteur MSD Ltd
Liable to change - New Law Journal (2006) 156, pp.538-539; analysis of the consequences of the ten year limitation period in product liability claims.

Seminars
Hugh lectures regularly on matters within his expertise at formal seminars and in-house presentations. Recent papers have included:
At risk from Litigation: British Association of Private Security Companies, 2007
Manual Handling and Work Equipment Claims: 7 Bedford Row seminar, 2007
Product Liability - limitation and time limits: 7 Bedford Row seminar, 2005
Civil Fraud Actions: 7 Bedford Row seminar, 2005

Memberships

Personal Injury Bar Association

AVMA

Midland Circuit