Eleanor Wheeler

Clinical Negligence

Eleanor provides robust advocacy and advice on a range of clinical negligence matters, including those involving children. She represents both claimants and defendants in County Court and High Court actions, and has experience working with vulnerable witnesses and interpreters.

Her wide-ranging clinical negligence practice includes:

Delay in diagnosis claims;
Complex cases involving children, including negligent births and psychiatric damage;
Claims for negligent dental work; and
Claims for orthopaedic injury, including spinal damage.

Recent cases

W v D - acted for the executor in a fatal claim involving delayed diagnosis of cancer. The matter settled at JSM for over £200,000 (completed 2024).
E v S - acted for the claimant against three defendants in a claim arising from negligent orthopaedic surgery and podiatric care. The matter was settled via offer in 2024.
L v A - acting for the executor and dependants of the deceased in a fatal claim involving negligent care provided by a care home and a local authority (ongoing).

Personal Injury

Eleanor provides robust advocacy and advice on a range of personal injury matters. She represents both claimants and defendants in County Court and High Court actions, and has experience working with vulnerable witnesses and interpreters.

Eleanor’s extensive experience in personal injury includes:

Claims under the Fatal Accidents Act and the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act;
Innumerable road traffic accident trials involving low-velocity impacts, multi-vehicle collisions, foreign insurance, and allegations of fraud or fundamental dishonesty;
Claims against employers, including for industrial disease, and those against multi-national employers;
Accidents while onboard aircraft; and
Claims against occupiers including local authorities, leisure clubs, householders, and major retailers.

Eleanor has experience of litigation involving multiple defendants and regularly provides advice on litigation tactics and settlement. She is a member of PIBA and AVMA.

Recent cases

D v KG Ltd - acting for the claimant in a multi-track claim relating to a serious accident at work involving a sink hole on a construction site. Value circa £100,000 (ongoing).
A v C and N - acting for the claimant in a multi-track claim involving consolidated proceedings arising from two accidents at work involving gas explosions. This case was beset by procedural irregularities and limitation issues but settlement was achieved for a substantial sum in 2023.
M v C - acting for a child claimant in a multi-track claim involving a serious road traffic accident, causing significant orthopaedic injuries and brain injury. Significant settlement negotiated in 2022.

Employment Law

Eleanor undertakes a significant amount of employment law work. She is regularly instructed on multi-day trials involving:

Complex discrimination;
Whistleblowing;
Breach of contract;
Redundancy;
Unfair dismissal, including constructive unfair dismissal;
Unlawful deduction from wages;
Complex remedy issues; and
Costs awards.

She represents both claimants and respondents and undertakes work for a variety of clients, from previously unrepresented individual claimants to large, institutional respondents. Her employer client base includes banks, supermarkets, transport sector organisations, and manufacturers.

Eleanor provides straightforward and practical advice on settlement and litigation tactics, including advice in group actions and claims involving multiple respondents.

As well as extensive experience in Employment Tribunals across the country, Eleanor has experience of actions in the Employment Appeal Tribunal and currently has three ongoing EAT matters. She regularly accepts instructions in matters involving reconsideration.

Eleanor is a member of the ELA.

Recent cases

Hearn v Wm Morrison Supermarkets Ltd - represented the respondent in an unfair dismissal claim relating to breach of policies relating to restraining shoplifters. The tribunal dismissed the claim in its entirety (completed 2024).
Maindola v Tesco Stores Ltd - acted for the respondent in a discrimination claim, persuading the tribunal to strike out the claim (despite this being very rare in discrimination proceedings) by identifying and pursuing a technical argument that the claimant's case didn't fall within any of the permissible categories of estoppel (completed 2023).
Lukasik and ors v (1) Norweigan Air Resources UK (2) OSM Aviation Ltd (3) The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - successfully represented 55 claimants in a group action for holiday pay against their former employer (completed 2022).
Brennan v Bouygues E&S Solutions Ltd - represented the respondent and persuaded the tribunal that the claim should be dismissed as the resignation was pre-emptive, giving rise to an invalid argument of constructive dismissal (completed 2022).

Inquests

Eleanor has a growing specialism in this field. She has attended inquests on behalf of a range of interested parties and is willing to do so on a pro-bono basis in appropriate circumstances. She recently presented a 1 day seminar on inquests to staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

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