James Patience
Call: 2007
Inn: Middle Temple
Professional Profile
James practices in civil law and is focused on clinical negligence, personal injury, fatal accidents and industrial disease. He is an experienced court advocate and acts principally, but not exclusively, for Claimants. He has always maintained an extensive paperwork practice and regularly provides advice and pleadings on a broad range of issues at short notice.
James has an excellent success rate at fast and multi-track level and acts as sole junior on High Court and Court of Appeal matters. James also acts as junior to Queens Counsel on high value clinical negligence, personal injury, and brain injury cases.
A significant part of James’s practice concerns claims where an individual has died. He is the author of the popular practitioner text “A Practical Guide to Claims Arising from Fatal Accidents”, the second edition of which is to be published later this year. He is particularly praised by solicitors for his sensitive and straight forward approach in these difficult claims.
Direct Access – James is accredited for direct access work. All enquiries must be made through the clerking team.
Areas of Work
Civil Litigation
James has a broad personal injury practice with a focus on claims of a multi-track value, often involving significant future losses. A significant part of James’s personal injury practice involves claims where an individual has died. He has considerable experience in claims involving an allegation of fraud or fundamental dishonesty. He is experienced in claims involving a foreign element, accidents at sea, and claims involving the Athens or Montreal conventions. He is frequently instructed in claims where there is a limitation argument. He is experienced in appellate work. He has an extensive and broad ranging paperwork practice and can provide advice and pleadings at short notice. He acts for Claimants and Defendants.
Clinical Negligence
James’s clinical negligence practice is broad and extensive. It covers the full range of medical negligence, from failure to diagnose , incorrect or delayed diagnosis (including of cancer), gynaecological and obstetric claims, surgery and other treatments, claims arising out of cosmetic surgery and other cosmetic treatments, dental negligence claims, and issues of consent. Solicitors instruct James for his clear and succinct advice which is given with sensitivity and understanding.
Industrial Disease
James acts for Claimants and Defendants in claims for noise induced hearing loss, vibration white finger, contact dermatitis and repetitive strain type injuries.
For further details of the type of recent industrial disease cases James has been involved with recently please contact one of the clerking team.
Further Information
Notable Cases
Personal Injury
- Successfully representing the family of a man killed in a road traffic accident where liability was in dispute and there was an unusually long and complex dependency claim.
- Successfully representing the Claimant at trial in a 7-figure claim concerning the traumatic amputation of the dominant right hand in an industrial accident.
- Representing the Claimant (led by John Benson QC) in a long running 7-figure subtle brain damage claim.
- Representing the Claimant at the Court of Appeal in a case where fresh evidence had come to light following judgment in a subtle brain injury case.
- Advising the Claimant in a significant six figure claim arising from a road traffic accident which prevented a return to pre-accident employment.
- Successfully arguing for the Claimant that covert surveillance footage, obtained in a brain damage case, should be excluded from the trial on the grounds it amounted to an “ambush”.
- Successfully defending an individual against an allegation of fundamental dishonesty in a five-day trial.
- Representing the Claimant at a joint settlement meeting where multiple orthopaedic injuries arising from an accident at work prevented a young man from returning to employment.
- Advising the Claimant in an accident at sea where jurisdiction and limitation were in dispute.
Clinical Negligence
- Advising the Claimant and family in a delayed diagnosis of cancer claim with complex issues of causation and a significant lost years claim.
- Acting for the family of an infant child who died shortly after birth following repeated failures in interpreting growth scans.
- Representing the Claimant in a 7-figure claim where a failure to diagnose and treat a heart attack had led to a significant reduction in life expectancy.
- Advising the Claimant in claim where the failure to diagnose and promptly treat an orthopaedic knee problem had led to a significant reduction in mobility and loss of employment at a young age.
- Representing the Claimants where negligence had led to the death of a child in utero and caused significant psychological injury to both parents.
- Acting for the family of a man who had died following the failure to diagnose and treat cancer including settling multiple dependency claims.
- Representing the Claimant in a multi jurisdiction claim against the producer of a failed gastric band which led to significant injury.
- Representing the Claimant in a dental negligence claim where unnecessary treatment had been repeatedly undertaken over many years.
- Representing the Claimant (led by John Benson QC) where a failure in carpal tunnel surgery had led to effective loss of use of the dominant limb.
Please contact the clerks for further examples of recent cases James has been involved in.
