• 42 Bedford Row
• About Chambers
• Areas Of Practice
• Barristers
• Clerks & Admin
• Recruitment
• Seminars
• News
• Contact Us

Summary Of Practice

Richard Furniss specialises in clinical negligence, personal injury, and solicitors’ and other professional negligence. He acts both for claimants and for defendants.

Richard is recommended by Chambers Directory as a leading junior in both clinical negligence and personal injury. He has enormous experience of all types of cases, including cerebral palsy and catastrophic injuries, and has been sole or junior counsel on many cases worth in excess of £1 million.

Chambers and Partners 2009 states that Richard "is admired for his 'well-organised, focused approach' and 'amazing brain'... he is 'firm and fair in all his dealings: he doesn't try to pull the wool over anyone's eyes...". In relation to his Clinical Negligence work, the guide states that Richard "has a reputation for having 'good tactical sense and a fantastic brain' ' straight down the line', he is feted by solicitors as he 'tells it like it is and is clear in his communication."

Professional Memberships

PNBA, PIBA

Selected Cases

Examples of recent and ongoing cases are:

T v Foster and others - RTA causing brain damage to a 16-year-old - settled for £3.75 million after discount for contributory negligence.

Gunn v Essex Strategic HA - Community midwife negligently failed to diagnose meningitis in new-born baby - child survived with brain damage - damages £1.7 million

M v King’s College Hospital - Wrongful birth after hospital failed to discover genetic abnormality - child born with lobar holoprosencephaly - liability admitted shortly before trial - quantum ongoing.

O v Queen Mary’s Sidcup NHS Trust - Cerebral palsy as a result of perinatal hypoxia - liability admitted during proceedings -quantum ongoing.

Richard has acted in many coroner’s inquests. He was recently involved in the lengthy inquest into the death of Gareth Myatt, a child who died as a result of being restrained while in custody.

Richard’s solicitors’ negligence work often (but by no means always) deals with the consequences of mishandled clinical negligence and personal injury claims. He also has substantial experience of cases involving the negligence of accountants, financial advisers, insurance brokers, architects, surveyors and estate agents (he acted for the successful defendant in John D Wood v Knatchbull [2003] 8 EG 131).

Richard also appears in many judicial review cases, especially (but not exclusively) when medical issues are involved. Interesting judicial review cases in which he has been instructed include CPS v Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths [2003] 2 WLR 504, K & D v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWHC 980 (medical examinations in immigration detention centres), and B v GSL (UK) Ltd [2007] EWHC 2227 (use of handcuffs during medical treatment).

Education

MA (Cantab)