Adam Walker
Year of call
2000
Instructing Adam Walker
For more information please contact our clerks by calling +44 (0)20 7242 3555.
Adam Walker has a specialist clinical negligence, personal injury and inquest practice.
He acts for both Claimants and Defendants and is instructed regularly to appear in court and at inquests, and also to advise.
Adam is listed as a leading junior in the areas of Clinical Negligence, Personal Injury and Inquests & Inquiries in the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners directories.
Adam is qualified to accept instructions directly from clients and is registered under the Bar Council’s Public Access Scheme, meaning that members of the public who seek specialist advice can come direct to him. In addition, he welcomes instructions from solicitors, in-house law departments, qualified foreign lawyers, and clients licensed by the Bar Council to give instructions direct to barristers under the Bar Council’s Licensed Access Scheme. For more information please visit our Direct Access page here.
Legal Expertise
Clinical Negligence
Clinical Negligence
Adam is listed as a leading junior in the area of Clinical Negligence in the current editions of the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners directories.
Adam has over two decades of extensive experience of advising, drafting, negotiating and appearing in court in a wide variety of clinical negligence matters, including those relating to obstetrics, fetal medicine, upper gastrointestinal and colorectal surgery, oncology, emergency medicine, orthopaedic surgery, neurology, gynaecology and in cases involving the provision of fertility treatment.
Adam is also instructed regularly to appear at Coroners’ Inquests in respect of instances of alleged clinical negligence leading to death, which often involve issues arising from Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Notable Clinical Negligence cases
CDE v Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (2024) KBD
Claim involving negligent planning and execution of cardiac surgery for repair of congenital heart defects in a child, in the form of transposition of great arteries and ventricular septal defect, leading to need for revision surgery and leading subsequently to need for ECMO and various complications including brain injury. Settlement achieved shortly before trial in sum of £3.65m in March 2024.
Redfern v Nilssen (2024) KBD
Case involving delayed diagnosis of nasal septal cancer involving growth into skull base, the need for more extensive surgery, significant functional deficit and cosmetic deformity. Settlement for £625,000 in April 2024.
W v Worcestershire Hospitals NHS Trust & another (2023) KBD
Case involving delay in management of a PICA territory ischaemic stroke, leading to serious deterioration, respiratory arrest, need for surgical posterior fossa decompression and insertion of external ventricular drain, ultimately leading to complications including tension pneumothorax at point of tracheal intubation and subsequently further arrest, severe hypoxic brain damage and death. Breach, causation and quantum of Fatal Accidents Act claim in dispute. Settlement reached £300,000 in April 2024.
HS v United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (2021) KBD
Claim relating to mismanagement of spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage suffered by a vulnerable patient with pre-existing learning difficulties. Breach, causation and quantum in dispute. Settlement achieved in April 2021 for a sum of £500,000.
CKDE v United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (2020) KBD
Case relating to delayed management of meningococcal septicaemia, leading to cardiac arrest and hypoxic brain injury, in patient who would in any event have suffered more limited limb amputations as a consequence of the infection if appropriately managed. Settlement achieved in April 2020 for a figure of £5.55m by way of capitalized lump sum plus a PPO bringing the total value of the claim to £14.8m on the Defendant's evidence as to life expectancy and some £20.7m on the life expectancy evidence of the Claimant.
Knight v Doncaster & Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (2019)
Claim involving bowel perforations and sepsis following negligently performed laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Settlement achieved at mediation in May 2019 in the sum of £1.235m.
Richardson v Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2018] 12 WLUK 556, LTL 15/1/2019
Acted for successful Claimant in a case involving craniofacial remodelling surgery on an 8-month old child, in which poor management of scalp flap intra operatively led to permanent scarring and hair loss. The Claimant was awarded £250,000 and indemnity costs at trial.
KVB v Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust (2015) KBD
Claim involving damages for dystonic cerebral palsy arising from hypoxic Ischaemic brain injury due to negligent management in delay in delivery. Settlement of £9.87M.
Personal Injury
Personal Injury
Adam is listed as a leading junior for Personal Injury work in the current editions of the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners directories.
Adam has a wide and varied experience of advising, drafting, negotiating and appearing before courts on behalf of both Claimants and Defendants in a wide variety of areas of personal injury work, including claims involving employers’ liability, occupiers’ liability, product liability, public liability, Highways Act claims and road traffic collisions.
He is regularly instructed to act in maximum severity cases and in claims in respect of fatal accidents.
Adam also has significant experience of acting and advising in a wide variety of claims involving the Armed Forces, including liability disputes in respect of the provision of appropriate equipment, injury in the course of service, combat immunity cases and in respect of complex disputes over quantum in such cases.
Adam also acts in industrial disease claims, having appeared in a large number of hand-arm vibration syndrome, noise-induced hearing loss and work-related upper limb disorder cases, in which liability in relation to systems of work is in issue and in which causation and diagnosis are disputed.
Adam is also instructed regularly to appear at Coroners’ Inquests in respect of instances of alleged negligence leading to death, which may involve issues arising from Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights and which may require a jury.
Notable Personal Injury cases
Davies v Ministry of Defence (2024)
Acted for RAF serviceman who suffered a below knee amputation having suffered a serious injury to the leg, as a result of being struck by a trailer while deployed to Cyprus. Contributory negligence and quantum in issue. Settlement achieved in sum of £2.5m in addition to a lifelong Guaranteed Income Payment from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
Re X (2024)
Acted for the Claimant who suffered serious traumatic brain and multiple other injuries when involved in a road traffic collision as front seat passenger. Live issues included contributory negligence alleged on the basis of alleged knowledge of the driver's intoxication with drink and drugs as well as quantum. Resolved for a sum of £4.25m plus an order for provisional damages given the increased risk of epilepsy in the future.
Warr v Ministry of Defence (2024)
Claim for damages for Noise Induced Hearing Loss and tinnitus suffered as a result of his service in the Royal Marines Armoured Support Group between 2013 and 2018. Live issues included diagnosis, medical causation as well as quantum of damages. Resolved for a sum of £870,000.
Smail-Woodford v Ministry of Defence (2024)
Acted for the Claimant who contracted neuroschistosomiasis (bilharzia) having been exposed to waters infested with a parasite while on exercise in Africa and whose condition interfered with his intended career as a pilot. Live issues included causation and quantum. Claim resolved for £1m.
Taylor v Ministry of Defence (2022)
Acted for the Claimant in this claim involving head injury sustained while undertaking maintenance on Chinook while serving in RAF. Live issues included nature and extent of injury, credibility, fundamental dishonesty and quantum. Damages awarded at trial in sum of £460,000.
Coroners' Inquests
Coroners' Inquests
Adam is listed as a leading junior for inquest work in the current edition of the Legal 500 directory.
Adam has substantial experience of advising and appearing before Coroners on behalf of interested persons at Coroners’ inquests, principally in cases of involving clinical accidents or military deaths with or without a jury.
Notable Coroners' Inquests cases
Inquest touching on the death of Ian James Bowbrick (2024)
Acted on behalf of the family of the deceased in this inquest relating to alleged errors in management of anticoagulation following a pulmonary embolism. Coroner found errors in duration of anticoagulation therapy leading to further PE and death.
Inquest touching on the death of Corrie McKeague (2022)
Jury inquest involving the disappearance of an RAF senior aircraftsman after a night out while off duty. Acted on behalf of the mother and brothers of the deceased. Jury concluded that the deceased had been crushed in the mechanism of a refuse lorry after having been tipped into it from a commercial waste bin in which he had fallen asleep. Coroner issued Regulation 28 reports to prevent future death to 4 organisations.
Inquest touching on the death of Teegan Barnard (2022)
Acted on behalf of the family of the deceased in this inquest involving the death of a new mother who suffered a post partum haemorrhage followed by bilateral pneumothorax causing a prolonged PEA arrest and hypoxic brain injury. Coroner found contribution to death from failure to recognise and treat the bilateral pneumothorax and issued Regulation 28 report to prevent future death to the relevant trust.
Inquest touching on the death of Claire Dunn (2021)
Inquest involving the suicide of a mother in response to death of her son which itself was a consequence of clinical negligence.
Inquest touching on the death of Robin Wright (2020)
Acted on behalf of the family of the deceased in this inquest involving death due to ischeamic bowel resulting from acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis following an ERCP procedure.
Inquest touching on the death of Ian Thomas Everton (2018)
Claim involving death of patient after laparoscopic robotically assisted gastric bypass operation, as a result of sepsis arising from spillage of gastric contents following radiologically inserted percutaneous gastrostomy.
Instructing Adam Walker
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