Meet The Team

Richard Barcan

Richard is one of the founding partners of the firm and the other joint 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 has dealt with a large number of claims arising from accidents where someone has been fatally injured. His current workload is about 80% clinical negligence and 20% serious personal injury including asbestos related claims and cycling accidents.

He has been regarded as a “Leader in his field” by Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession for many years. The 2006 entry in the Guide reads: “Everyone has nothing but praise for Richard Barcan. Many agreed that he was largely to thank for the firm‘s high standard of service and commitment to the sector". 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 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, often helping to organize their meetings.

Richard is a very keen cyclist and lives in Bristol with his wife and numerous bikes. In various combinations they have travelled the world together.

Marina Van Vessem

Marina joined the firm in 1994, having previously worked in London for a firm specialising in personal injury and medical claims. Since joining her caseload has consisted of about 50% personal injury and 50% medical claims.

She has developed a particular interest in claims arising out of head injuries. 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 proper amount of compensation to which they are entitled.

Marina is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and is also a member of the Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme.

Click here to see what other people have to say about Marina -

Richard Harries

Richard 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 ancanthoemeba keratitis associated with contact lenses
- Maximum severity birth injury cases

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

Myfanwy Buckeridge

Myfanwy is a graduate in Psychology from Sheffield University. She 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 now specialising in serious injury claims, head injury and spinal injury as well as claims arising from asbestos-related disease.

Myfanwy is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and is also a member of the Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme.

Maria Voisin

Maria is a senior solicitor 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 The 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 Plymouth and South West and Assistant Deputy Coroner for Avon.

Amie Prowle

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 amoung 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 a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.

Kerstin Scheel

Kerstin is an assistant solicitor and undertakes clinical negligence and Inquest related work and often works closely with Richard Barcan on a wide range of claims.

She read law at the University of the West of England and was a trainee solicitor with the firm prior to her admission to the Roll of Solicitors in April 2003.

Kerstin specialises in orthopaedic claims, particularly in relation to hands, feet and spinal injuries. She has also dealt with numerous cases in relation to abdominal and gynaecological surgery and their complications. She also has a specialist interest in Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome.

She has acted for many families in Coroner‘s Courts all over the South West of England in relation to Inquest hearings from: deaths in care homes; sudden unexpected infant deaths; deaths following complications with hospital treatment; deaths whilst under a Mental Heath Act Section. See our section on Inquests for more information.

Client comment: 'Thank you for your professional care, committment and support which you have sustained over the past 3 years. My family and I will have no hesitation in highly recommending Barcan Woodward.'

Memberships:
-Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL)
-Bristol Law Society
-Bristol Medico-Legal Society
-INQUEST lawyers group