Nicholas Baldock

Personal injury & clinical negligence

Personal injury practice includes many catastrophic injury cases including brain injuries and amputations. One settlement was achieved for a Claimant which included periodical payments of almost £190,000 per annum with a seven figure lump sum. Other cases have included a traumatic double leg amputation and a paraplegia claim arising from an accident at work. He advises on a number of cases in Jersey including high value brain injury claims, in one case achieving over £1.75 million for a badly brain damaged Claimant.

Nicholas Baldock also undertakes a significant number of clinical negligence cases. He recently achieved a settlement for a patient who threw herself from the balcony of a psychiatric hospital.

Nicholas regularly appears for clients at settlement meetings.

Other work covered includes employers’ liability, local authority liability and professional negligence.  He has a particular interest in sports litigation and cases of interest include football “bad tackle” claims, gymnastics accident claims and a fatal accident claim against a speedway referee for the failure to stop a race.

He also advises insurers on recovery against third parties including in relation to indemnity clauses.

Featured cases include:

1. Scarcliffe v Brampton Valley Group [2023] EWHC 1565(KB) personal injury, damages, expert evidence.
2. Starks v Chief Constable of Hertfordshire [2013] EWCA Civ 782 (Contributory Negligence/Road Traffic Accident Involving Police Vehicle at Mini Roundabout).
3. Jason Sharp (by his brother & litigation friend John Sharp) v Top Flight Scaffolding Ltd [2013] EWHC 479 (QB) (Personal Injury/Health & Safety at Work/Contributory Negligence/Scaffolder Falling from Scaffolding/Lack of Adequate Training).
4. XVW & YZA v Gravesend Grammar School for Girls and Adventure Life Signs [2012] ELR 417 (Education/Negligence/Personal Injury).
5. Amy Verlander v Mohammed Khalilur Rahman [2012] EWHC 1026 (QB) (Damages/Personal Injury/Brain Damage/Incapacity for Work/Future Employment Prospects).
6. V v R [2011] EWHC 822 (QB) (Mental Health/Personal Injury/Litigation Friends/Capacity to Conduct Litigation/Civil Procedure/Road Traffic Accidents).
7. Polestar Jowetts Ltd -v- (1) Komori UK Ltd (2) Spectral Technology Ltd [2006] 1 WLR 2472 (CA) (Health and Safety at Work).
8. Steeds -v- Peverel Management Services Ltd (Times 16.5.01) Court of Appeal (Limitation).
9. Steele -v- Milbrook Proving Ground Ltd (1999) Court of Appeal (Treatment of General Practitioner’s notes in Personal Injury Claims).
10. Margaret Anne Brown (Widow and Executrix of Peter Brown) -v- (1) Drake International Ltd and (2) Southampton Container Terminals [2004] EWCA Civ 1629 (Contracts/Health and Safety at Work/Personal Injury).
11. Binks -v- Securicor Omega Express Ltd [2003] 1 WLR 2557 (Statements of Truth).

Environment

Nicholas Baldock also deals with tortious claims for environmental damage. He acted for a farmer in a claim arising from water run off from a maize field and another in a claim relating to water run off from a pig farm.

He is also instructed by angling clubs through Fish Legal and others.

Nicholas Baldock represented the Pride of Derby Angling Association and secured a final injunction at trial to prevent the multi million pound development at Sawley Weir at which it had fishing rights. The developers wished to install a hydro turbine and were represented by Leading Counsel.

Other recent cases include representing a fishing club whose waters were polluted by a local farmer causing a catastrophic fish kill and acting for an angling club whose fishery had been polluted by Anglia Water securing a judgment and indemnity costs. The matter settled in mediation.

Other nuisance claims (for both Claimants and Defendants) include issues relating to dust, noise, unlawful dredging of rivers and cyanide pollution from former gas works. He is currently instructed on behalf of Tata Steel UK in a group action relating to dust.

Featured cases include:

1. R -v- National Rivers Authority ex parte Moreton: [1996] ENV LR 234.
2. Pride of Derby Angling Association -v- Canal & River Trust & Anr (2012)
3. Cambridge Fish Preservation and Angling Society -v- Anglia Water (2020)

Civil environmental claims

Nicholas Baldock has developed a substantial practice dealing with environmental civil litigation. Many of the cases deal with water but he also deals with cases involving dust, noise and various other emissions and pollutants. Notable cases include representing the owner of a lake which was subjected to substantial silt pollution following the failure of an upstream dam, representing residential property owners in a claim from noise nuisance emanating from a large scale dairy, representing the riparian owner on a well known sea trout river in a claim against farmers who had dredged it and altered its course and representing a farmer in a claim against him for water run-off from a maize field. Nicholas is currently representing Tata Steel UK with Stephen Hockman KC in a Group Claim brought for dust nuisance by local residents in Port Talbot.

Negligence (including professional)

Nicholas deals with a range of negligence claims, including professional negligence. Claims include those against solicitors for negligent advice on an environmental search, against a local authority in relation to answers to a local search, both for and against solicitors in personal injury claims (including missed limitation limits) and against a structural engineer in relation to a listed building.

Featured cases include:

Owadally v Planology Ltd
King’s Bench Division [2023] EWHC 339 (KB) 17 Feb 2023
Subject: Abuse of process; Ex turpi causa; Illegality; Professional negligence; Striking out; Summary judgments

Mediation

Nicholas is a CEDR trained mediator which he has used both as a mediator but also when representing parties in ADR including mediations and settlement meetings. Mediation include those in a case relating to nuisance claim between a disabled person and a local authority home for young persons and in relation to a commercial dispute in relation to the provision of educational services.

Nicholas has represented parties in numerous mediations and settlement meetings ranging from personal injury and clinical negligence, seven figure commercial disputes and employment claims to environmental claims.

Nicholas regularly lectures on all aspects of mediation including costs implications.

Employment

Nicholas Baldock also undertakes employment work and has conducted claims for both employees and employers in Employment Tribunals and the EAT.

He has represented the Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service and represented Kent County Council in a long running employment dispute.

He also advises on and appears in claims such as restrictive covenants in employment contracts.

In recent times Nicholas has both lectured and advised on employment issues relating to covid.

Featured cases include:

• Abbycars -v- Ford EAT 28/5/08 (Constructive Dismissal).

Recommendations

Awards

Hardwicke Scholar, Lincoln’s Inn

Appointments

• Formerly a Legal Assessor to the MPTS
• Legal Advisory Committee of Fish Legal

Languages

Working knowledge of French

Education

Magdalene College Cambridge (MA)

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