Clinical Negligence, Personal and Head Injury

Richard Barcan

Contact Richard on rab@barcanwoodward.co.uk

or telephone on 0117 925 8080

Richard is one of the founding partners of the firm and the senior partner. A Law graduate from Liverpool University, his work covers all aspects of clinical negligence and personal injury. He has dealt with cases both large and small from brain damage claims, including cerebral palsy to nursing care cases. He recently played a central coordinating role in the Thompstone Group Appeals, important test litigation which went to the House of Lords, making ground breaking law. This case established that damages for an injured person’s future care needs would be properly inflation proof in the future.  

Richard  has also dealt with a large number of claims arising from accidents where someone has been fatally injured. His current workload is about 90% clinical negligence and 10% serious personal injury claims. Richard is a very keen cyclist and has a particular interest in cycling accident claims.

He has been regarded as a “Leader in his field” by the entirely independent “Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession” for many years. For example, the 2006 entry in the Guide read: “Everyone has nothing but praise for Richard Barcan. Many agree that he is largely to thank for the firm‘s high standard of service and commitment to the sector".  The current entry says that Richard “is widely credited as a “safe pair of hands” by clients; other interviewees termed him “an extremely nice, modest guy who has a formidable reputation.”  He is also recommended by the Legal 500. Richard is a panel solicitor for Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA), a national charity dedicated to the interests of those injured by medical mishaps, and is a member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s  Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme. He is a Senior Litigator of the College of Personal Injury Law and a member of Bristol Law Society‘s Civil Courts Committee.

Richard has contributed to medico-legal journals and lectured to lawyers and doctors. He has wide contacts in the medical world and is an active member of AvMA South West Lawyers Support Group.

Richard lives in Bristol with his wife and numerous bikes. In various combinations they have traveled the world together.

Marina Van Vessem

Contact Marina on mvv@barcanwoodward.co.uk

Or telephone her on 0117 925 8080

Marina joined the firm in 1994, and has been a partner since 1999, heading the Personal Injury team at Barcan Woodward. She specialises in personal injury and clinical negligence work, with a caseload balanced across the two fields, focusing on cases involving catastrophic injury.

Marina has an acknowledged expertise in claims arising from brain and complex back and neck injuries, including whiplash-type injuries and spinal cord damage. In addition, she regularly takes over cases from other firms of solicitors to bring them to a swift conclusion and to ensure that clients receive the amount of compensation to which they are entitled.

Marina is a Litigator of the College of Personal Injury Law and a member of the Solicitors Regulatory Authority Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme. She is also a member of Headway – the brain injury association Personal Injury Solicitors List and is named in the Spinal Injuries Association solicitor’s directory.

The international legal directory Legal 500 notes that "Partner Marina van Vessem is … a calm and ‘totally professional‘ choice for complex personal injury claims". 

Richard Harries

Contact Rich on reh@barcanwoodward.co.uk

Or telephone him on 0117 925 8080

Richard is a Partner and graduated from The University College of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1996, qualifying as a solicitor in 1999. He joined Barcan Woodward‘s Personal and Medical Injuries Team in 2003, becoming an Associate in February 2006.

He handles all types of clinical negligence cases and has recent experience of in the following types of cases:

- Nursing negligence in the treatement of a leg ulcer in a diabetic patient
- A&E negligence in tetanus infection
- Extravasion injury caused by an intavenous cannula
- Delayed Diagnosis of cervical cancer
- Surgical negligence in bowel surgery
- Optician‘s failure to recognise ancanthamoeba keratitis associated with contact lenses
- Maximum severity birth injury cases

Richard is also a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers

Maria Voisin

Contact Maria on mev@barcanwoodward.co.uk

Or telephone her on 0117 925 8080

Maria is a Partner with Barcan Woodward and graduate in Economics and Law.

She has specialised in litigation work since qualifying in 1991 and since 1995 has practised exclusively in the field of claimant clinical negligence. Accomplished in dealing with claims of all types of injury, Maria enjoys acting for children, especially claims surrounding dislocation of the hip and birth trauma.

Based on her extensive experience Maria achieved membership of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme in April 1999 and was re-selected in 2004. She was also appointed to the referral panel for AvMA (Action against Medical Accidents) a national charity dedicated to the interests of those injured by medical mishaps, in 2001.

Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession last year described her as a “leading light” in the field of claimant clinical negligence.

Maria is also Assistant Deputy Coroner for Avon.

Myfanwy Buckeridge

Contact Myfanwy on emb@barcanwoodward.co.uk

or telephone her on 0117 925 8080

Following graduating in Psychology from Sheffield University Myfanwy subsequently converted to law and completed her professional examinations in Newcastle upon Tyne before returning home to the South West.

Myfanwy joined the firm in 2004 having worked exclusively for Claimants in personal injury claims since 1990. She has broad experience of all types of personal injury claims ranging from road traffic accidents to heavy industry employment related claims.  She now specialises in serious injury claims: head injury, spinal injury and fatal accidents as well as claims arising from asbestos-related disease.  She has a particular interest in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  She frequently takes over cases from other firms of solicitors requiring swift assessment, investigation and conclusion of cases often with tight deadlines.

Myfanwy has conducted personal injury seminars with membership organisations and lectured to doctors.  She is a Litigator of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and is also a member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme.

Amie Prowle

Contact Amie on alp@barcanwoodward.co.uk

or telephone her on 0117 925 8080

Amie studied Law and German at University in Leicester and was lucky enough to spend the 3rd year of her degree living and studying law in Mainz, Germany. She is a confident German speaker and has an interest in other languages.

She trained to be a solicitor in London in a firm which specialised in personal injury claims and upon qualification chose to return to her home town of Bristol.

Amie joined Barcan Woodward in March 2004 immediately after qualifying as a solicitor. 

She specialises in personal injury and acts for clients making claims for compensation following accidents at work, road traffic accidents, cycling accidents and tripping/slipping accidents among others. She is also developing an interest in claims for compensation for injuries sustained whilst in hospitals which are not strictly clinical negligence claims.

Amie is accredited as a Litigator with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.

Hannah Land

Contact Hannah on hll@barcanwoodward.co.uk

or telephone her on 0117 925 8080

Hannah is an assistant solicitor and undertakes clinical negligence work.

She read law at Abersytwyth University, qualifying as a solicitor in September 2003.

Hannah handles a broad range of medical negligence cases and is accomplished in knee replacement surgery.  She has also dealt with numerous cases in relation to abdominal and gynaecological surgery and their complications.

She also has an interest in Fatal Accident Act claims and inquest work.

Claire Levene

Contact Claire on cll@barcanwoodward.co.uk

or telephone her on 0117 925 8080

Claire is an assistant solicitor and undertakes clinical negligence work.

She studied music in Bath and then 5 years later studied Law at the Universtiy of Westminster and BPP Law School.

She has worked with various specialist clinical negligence practices gaining a wide knowledge in many areas.