Matthew Stockwell

Matthew acts exclusively on behalf of injured people and their families in connection with life changing injuries, placing the needs of these clients at the heart of everything he does. He is consistently credited for his empathetic manner.

Matthew brings a proactive and focused approach to his cases, providing expert advice and reassurance with all aspects of the process from initial assessment and case planning through to settlement or trial. He draws on vast experience of successfully litigating difficult, unusual, and robustly defended claims.

He is praised for his technical knowledge, written and oral advocacy skills and attention to detail. He achieves excellent results for clients through hard work, responsiveness, and meticulous preparation.

His personal injury practice covers the following areas: brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, limb loss and amputation, severe psychiatric injury including PTSD, chronic pain disorders including CRPS and fibromyalgia, severe burns, electrocutions and crushing injuries, other catastrophic injuries.

Matthew has extensive experience of drafting complex schedules of loss in high-value claims. His skills in the effective preparation and presentation of complex quantum issues are widely recognised. He adds value in every case in which he is instructed.

He has acted in several cases that have shaped important aspects of the law, including:

• Dunhill v Burgin [2014] UKSC 18 – Leading authority on legal test for litigation capacity and compromise of proceedings by protected parties.
• Uren v (1) Corporate Leisure (UK) Ltd (2) Ministry of Defence [2011] EWCA Civ 66 – Successful appeal against dismissal of claim for damages following tetraplegia injury suffered during a negligently organised MoD Health & Fun day. Court confirmed duty to undertake a risk assessment was closely related to the common law duties of the employer and was non-delegable.
• Threlfall v Hull City Council [2010] EWCA Civ 1147 – Leading case on determining “suitability” under the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992.
• Pollock v Cahill [2015] EWHC 2260 (QB) – Duties owed to disabled visitors. Brain and spinal injuries claim on behalf of blind adventure athlete, paralysed following fall.

Matthew was President in 2013 of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), having served on the executive committee between 2007 and 2015, and as Vice President in 2012. He was co-author of the APIL Guide to Accidents at Work and is a contributor to APIL Personal Injury: Law, Practice and Precedents Service. Matthew has a wealth of knowledge and experience of brain injury litigation, delivering APIL’s brain injury training courses and actively contributing to APIL’s serious injury training programme.

Matthew’s work is split between personal injury and clinical negligence, with a complementary practice in welfare and health related aspects of public law, especially mental capacity.