James Hurd

PROFILE

James is described by the Legal 500 as a Leading Junior on the Northern Circuit in relation to both Personal Injury and Employment work. Being able to be considered a respected expert in both practice areas gives James a somewhat unique position in Chambers. He is able to combine solid, strong advocacy with sensitive intelligence. He is able to distil issues down to their key elements, understand and advance key arguments and do so while remaining calm and in control. James combines his technical ability with practicality - always having a strong focus on the commercial realities of any situation. He is both approachable and friendly and prides himself on his excellent reputation for providing a high standard of customer service and an efficient turnaround on paperwork.

Outside of work, James enjoys creative writing, music, football, classic cars and motorcycles, cinema, and travel. James is a published author, with his debut novel, 'A Bold Deceiver', being set in Manchester in the 1990's (see http://www.abolddeceiver.co.uk for further details)

AREAS OF PRACTICE

PERSONAL INJURY

James undertakes multi track personal injury litigation on behalf of both Claimants and Defendant insurers. He also receives regular instructions on behalf of other institutional Defendants in the public sector.

He is often instructed in cases of high value/catastrophic injuries, requiring expert evidence and the drafting of extensive and complex schedules and counter schedules of loss. He deals with complex trials, as well as advising on paper and in conference.

He also has a huge amount of experience in conducting Joint Settlement Meetings:

• Acted for Claimant at JSM: claim settled for figure in excess of £1million, for PSTD and complex physical injuries following high speed road traffic accident.
• Acted for Defendant at JSM, where Claimant had developed psychiatric illness in the workplace, caused by homophobic abuse and being required to handle corpses, following traumatic or unnatural deaths.
• Acted for Defendant in Highways Act claim arising out of for ice on motorway, resulting in upper limb amputation.
• Obtained six figure settlement for pedestrian Claimant who suffered life changing physical and psychiatric injuries when struck by car on pavement close to his home.

As a keen motorcyclist, he is also often instructed in relation to motorcycle claims. He has a detailed knowledge and personal experience from riding for over 30 years. Road traffic and highways work from a considerable part of his practice and he is regularly instructed by Defendant insurers in relation to fraud cases where fundamental dishonesty is alleged.

He has a vast amount of experience in advising and conducting road traffic claims, including:

• Staged accidents/exaggerated claims & phantom passengers,
• Fraud rings and linked accident claims,
• Late notification of claims defences,
• Bogus/opportunistic injury claims,
• Low speed impact defences,
• Disputed causation/inconsistent medical records/credibility issues,
• Intelligence gathering and inconsistent social media evidence,
• Exceptions to QOWCS, fundamental dishonesty and Section 57 of the Criminal Justice & Courts Act 2015.

James also acts on behalf of travel/tour operators defending fraud allegations in holiday illness litigation and accidents abroad.

EMPLOYMENT

James mainly undertakes Respondent work in the Employment Tribunal. He has considerable expertise in dealing with complex discrimination and whistle-blowing ET cases, especially in the public sector. Recent examples include:

• Defending disability discrimination claim by legal representative who developed PTSD after accompanying terrorist suspect/informant during multiple police interviews.
• Successfully represented public sector client in the EAT in respect of the strike out of whistleblowing detriment claims, which had not been properly particularised.
• Successfully defended claim for sexual orientation discrimination, after Claimant was disciplined for leaving work IT equipment in bar on Canal Street in Manchester.
• Successfully defended constructive dismissal claim by Director, alleging employees had been bribed by the managing director to give false evidence in grievance investigation.

James frequently advises both Claimants and Defendant insurers on issues that span both employment and personal injury law, such as claims for psychiatric injury in the workplace, stress at work, and bullying/harassment claims pursuant to the Harassment Act 1997. James also has an excellent understanding of disciplinary and regulatory law. He sists as a Legal Assessor for the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and as a Legal Advisor to Social Work England.

DIRECT ACCESS

As an accredited public access barrister, James is able to accept advice and advocacy work directly from individuals or businesses through the Public Access Scheme, and is happy to discuss fixed fee or retainer rates for such work.

TRAINING SERVICES

As part of a continuing commitment to building and enhancing client relationships, James regularly gives training seminars to clients on legal developments. He is happy to devise bespoke training, tailored to clients' requirements, to deliver at their businesses or remotely.