Kirsty McKinlay

PROFILE

Kirsty has developed a strong practice in personal injury and clinical negligence. She undertakes advocacy and advisory work for claimants and defendants in relation to higher value and more complicated claims involving serious injury.

Kirsty has experience in a broad spectrum of areas including clinical negligence, fatal accident claims, employers’ liability, public liability, road traffic accidents, defective premises, travel litigation and insurance fraud.

Kirsty attends inquests in the role of advocate including those where an Article 2 wider investigation is required and has also attended arbitration hearings particularly relating to arbitration relating to the MIB Untraced Drivers’ Agreements.

Kirsty is adept at dealing sensitively with claimants in difficult situations and being able to explain complex issues in simple terms both in conference and in cross examination. This is particularly useful in dealing with clinical negligence cases or cases involving serious and life changing injuries both for claimants and defendants.

Kirsty also has extensive experience of costs litigation and undertakes work for both claimants and defendants. Kirsty’s knowledge of costs ensures that she can take a commercial approach to litigation and she is frequently instructed in personal injury matters which have related costs issues on the basis that she can give tactical advice from the outset in respect of all issues.

Kirsty is noted for her thorough approach, meticulous written work, detailed preparation and attention to detail.

Kirsty endeavours to combine a professional attitude with a friendly and approachable style and is known for providing firm and clear advice.

AREAS OF PRACTICE

Personal Injury

Insurance Fraud

Clinical Negligence

Costs Litigation

Travel Litigation

NOTABLE AND RECENT CASES

Examples of notable recent litigated cases include:

Insurance Fraud

• Represented the NHS in the case of Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital FT -v- Wilson securing a finding of fundamental dishonesty at trial in respect of the Claimant’s claim in excess of £500,000 followed by committal proceedings resulting in an immediate 4 month sentence.
• Represented a defendant insurer in a 2 day trial of a road traffic accident with allegations of a staged accident based upon expert engineering evidence and securing a finding of fraud.
• Represented a defendant in a 3 day trial of an alleged accident at work resulting in findings of fundamental dishonesty.

Clinical Negligence

• Represented a patient suffering an acquired brain injury following a prescription overdose in her successful claim where there were underlying causation issues and capacity issues;
• Represented a claimant who suffered a serious pre-existing spinal condition in his successful claim against the treating hospital where his rehabilitation was profoundly and catastrophically affected by delay due to pressure sores;

Catastrophic Injury Cases

• Represented a child claimant with a serious pre-existing condition in her successful claim against a utilities provider relating to catastrophic injury to the bowel;
• Represented a claimant in her successful claim following a minor road traffic accident which caused her to develop functional neurological disorder and become wheelchair bound.

Inquests

• Represented a psychological therapist as an interested party where a patient had subsequently committed suicide;
• Represented the family in relation to the death of a patient following a failure to undertake appropriate investigations into underlying health condition;
• Represented the local authority as employer of an Approved Mental Health Practitioner in a case where a patient had absconded during a section 2 assessment and subsequently died.