David Campion

PROFILE

David is a highly experienced and respected practitioner who specialises in employment law, occupational disease and clinical negligence.

AREAS OF PRACTICE

EMPLOYMENT

David is a much sought after employment barrister who draws on two decades of experience in employment law. David’s superpower is creating clarity amidst complexity. David is ranked as a Band 1 Leading Junior on the Northern Circuit in the Legal 500 and has a Masters’ degree in Employment Law with Distinction.

David represents and advises a broad range of private businesses, local authorities, NHS bodies, schools, universities, emergency services, Unions and employees.

David is often instructed in high value and high-profile disputes in areas including discrimination, whistleblowing, equal pay, employment status and TUPE. David is frequently instructed for EAT appeals and also in civil court matters, including those relating to the Equality Act 2010 and employee competition.

NOTABLE CASES: EMPLOYMENT

• In June 2023 David successfully represented a multinational logistics company at a three-day hearing against claims of unfair dismissal and direct discrimination (race and religion or belief) following the claimant’s dismissal due to failing to work his contracted hours. The claimant compared himself to a colleague who had been given a final written warning, however the ET concluded that the colleague’s circumstances were not truly similar, that the dismissal was fair and that there was no unlawful discrimination.
• In June 2023 David successfully represented over 30 employees who had been underpaid a year’s pay protection, following the employees agreeing to change their shifts.
• In August 2022 David successfully defended an NHS Trust at a four-day hearing against claims of disability discrimination, constructive dismissal and wrongful dismissal in relation to an employee who suffered from sleep apnoea and fell asleep at work.
• In April 2022 David successfully defended an NHS Trust at a three-day hearing against claims of constructive dismissal and breach of contract following a medical practitioner being disciplined for misuse of social media and for breaching the Trust’s clinical record keeping policy.
• In January 2022 David successfully defended a large retailer against an unfair redundancy claim in which the claimant had alleged that the redundancy was due to malice/a vendetta.
• In December 2021 David successfully defended a large manufacturer against a claim for unfair and wrongful dismissal following the dismissal of an employee accused of watching a football match during work without authorisation.
• In November 2021, at a nine-day hearing, David successfully defended an NHS Trust against a multiplicity of wide-ranging claims including whistleblowing, discrimination, unfair dismissal and breach of the WTR 1998.
• In March 2021 David, instructed by Simpsons Solicitors, represented around 200 Trade Union members at a four-day hearing and successfully argued that a quarterly bonus fell within the definition of ‘normal remuneration’ and should have been paid during annual leave taken under Regulation 13 of the Working Time Regulations 1998. The case involved detailed consideration of CJEU and domestic authority.
• In February 2021 David successfully defended a global car rental business at a five-day hearing against allegations of unfair dismissal and race discrimination. The case involved an alleged breach of the employer's CCTV and data protection policy relating to the copying of CCTV footage. The Tribunal concluded that the claimant had lied about how he had obtained the CCTV footage, found the dismissal to be fair and dismissed the claimant's claims of race discrimination.
• In December 2020 David successfully defended a national law firm at a Preliminary Hearing against a claim brought by a former solicitor. The claimant’s claims for constructive dismissal and discrimination were struck out due to limitation.
• In April 2020 David successfully defended a recruitment agency against claims of unfair dismissal brought by agency workers. Following a preliminary hearing the Tribunal struck out the claims as possessing no reasonable prospects of success.
• In October 2019, at a hard-fought three-day hearing, David successfully defended a large educational establishment against claims for discrimination arising from disability and a failure to make reasonable adjustments.
• Ugradar v Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust UKEAT/0301/18 - In June 2019 David persuaded the EAT that the ET was wrong to hold that a statutory redundancy payment was subsumed within a contractual claim. The EAT held that there was no merger of a cause of action when a claim was brought for both a contractual and a statutory redundancy payment.
• In June 2018 David successfully defended a school and local authority at a multi-day hearing against claims of disability discrimination and breach of the flexible working regulations.
• At hearings between March 2017 and May 2018 David represented a claimant who succeeded in claims for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal and who was awarded over £100,000.
• In January 2018 David successfully represented three claimants who were each held to have been automatically unfairly dismissed due to whistleblowing. The total awards exceeded £350,000.
• In late 2016 David defended a large multi-national automotive equipment business in a High Court employee competition dispute involving allegations of poaching and misuse of confidential information, including at an interim injunction hearing.
• Noble v Sidhil Ltd UKEAT/0375/14 - In January 2016 David successfully represented a claimant before the EAT in a serious harassment claim. The EAT concluded that the ET had erred in holding that the claimant could not have been subjected to harassment related to a protected characteristic which he did not possess. The EAT also dismissed the employer’s cross-appeal and held that knowledge of an employee's disability was not a requirement to bring a claim for disability related harassment.
• In July 2014 David successfully defended a national firm of surveyors and property consultants at trial in a civil court claim for damages for breach of contract relating to alleged unpaid remuneration.
• Cooksey and others v Trafford Borough Council [2012] EqLR 744 (EAT) - David appeared against leading Counsel and successfully defended an appeal against the rejection of genuine material factor defences and successfully argued that the ET had erred in law when considering disparate adverse impact.
• Vision Security Group Ltd v Goodyear [2011] All ER (D) 68 (Mar) (EAT) - David successfully defended an appeal against the ET’s decision to decline to make a Polkey deduction from an employee's unfair dismissal compensation.

OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE

David specialises in living and fatal asbestos-related claims of significant value, including pleural thickening, asbestosis and mesothelioma. David frequently leads large loss mesothelioma claims to significant settlements.

David also deals with a wide range of occupational disease cases for defendants, insurers and claimants including noise induced hearing loss, HAVS, COSHH and psychiatric injury/stress at work.

NOTABLE CASES: OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE

• David successfully represented an insurance company before the County Court and Companies Court in defence of a claim for noise induced hearing loss in which the claimant had failed to restore the employer/defendant to the Register of Companies. The Claimant’s case was struck out as an abuse of process, QOCS was disapplied under CPR 44.15(1)(b) and David was successful in obtaining an order for indemnity costs for £18,000 in favour of the insurer to be enforced on a joint and several basis against the Claimant’s solicitors and the Claimant.
• David has successfully represented several claimants who suffered lead poisoning at work.
• David led a complicated and long-running claim for noise induced hearing loss and catastrophic tinnitus to a large settlement.
• David led a claim for contact dermatitis arising out of exposure to irritant chemicals and rubber accelerators to a significant settlement.

CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE

David has a wealth of experience in a variety of clinical negligence work. David is experienced in navigating through contentious expert evidence and confidently tests expert opinion in conference.

David is instructed in fatal accident clinical negligence cases and has experience in representing families of those who have passed away due to suspected clinical negligence at inquests.

NOTABLE CASES: CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE

• Accident and Emergency: Misdiagnosis of acute appendicitis leading to a laparotomy, bowel resection, stoma, further surgeries, incisional hernia, weight loss and infection. A further case where an undiagnosed femur fracture at A&E led to the need for a total hip replacement.
• Cancer/Oncology: Beecroft v Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust (2018, Lawtel Quantum Reports) where total damages of £27,500 arising from a delay in diagnosing lung cancer from a CT scan. D
• Cardiology: Case involving the misdiagnosis of cardiac symptoms by primary and secondary practitioners where intervention may have avoided a heart attack and/or death.
• Colorectal Surgery: David was instructed in a Joint Settlement Meeting and secured a six-figure settlement for a Claimant who suffered caecal perforation because of acute colonic pseudo-obstruction and associated complications.
• ENT Surgery: Cortical mastoidectomy and ossiculoplasty where the drill contacted the facial nerve causing permanent damage to the inner ear and damage to the facial nerve.
• General Practitioners: Death due to faecal peritonitis and perforation of the sigmoid colon through areas of stercoral ulceration following failures to refer to secondary care.
• Gynaecology: Negligently performed episiotomy resulting in a third-degree midline perineal tear, anal sphincter damage and psychiatric injury.
• Medical students: Performance of gynaecological examinations by medical students whilst a patient was under general anaesthetic, without obtaining proper consent.
• Medication: Discontinuation of Thromboprophylaxis causing Deep Vein Thrombosis and lifelong symptoms. A number of other cases involving incorrectly dispensed medication.
• Nursing: A number of cases involving pressure sores/small fibre nerve damage.
• Obstetrics: Failure to warn and advise as to reduced fetal movements relating to pregnancy affected by obstetric cholestasis leading to traumatic birth and psychiatric injuries.
• Optometry: Failure to refer to ophthalmologists in respect of a choroidal melanoma leading to enucleation. The matter settled for a significant sum in December 2019.
• Orthopaedic surgery: Incorrect prosthesis used in knee replacement surgery.
• Product liability: Claims against a large pharmaceutical manufacturer in respect of undisclosed side-effects of medication which David led to significant settlements.
• Psychiatric Care: Several cases involving suicide after medical attendances with psychiatric symptoms.

REGULATORY WORK

David accepts regulatory instructions and has appeared before the HCPC and NMC. David is presently instructed on an ongoing complex matter before the NMC.

TRAINING SERVICES

David provides regular legal training to a wide variety of law firms. David has provided training in recent years on areas including expert evidence, limitation, equal pay, holiday pay, IR35, the asbestos show cause procedure under PD 49B and claims for detrimental treatment related to health and safety.

PUBLIC ACCESS

David is an accredited public access barrister and is able to provide advice and advocacy services directly to businesses or individuals.