Christopher Neale

Chris has a mixed practice of claimant and defendant personal injury work, including employers’ liability claims, and occupiers liability claims where he is instructed regularly on matters ranging from slip and trip cases through to injury claims arising from manual handling breaches, falls from height, control of vibrations at work and COSHH. Chris is instructed regularly on road traffic matters, and has particular experience in dealing with multi-car “concertina” claims; as well as road traffic claims that include claims for credit hire charges.

Chris is instructed on a large volume and array of interlocutory hearings, ranging from strike out applications through to appeal hearings and judicial review. He also has extensive experience conducting CCMCs on the multi-track and associated costs disputes.

Chris maintains a busy paperwork practice, and is frequently instructed for the preparation of pleadings, particulars of claim, defences, interlocutory applications, part 35 questions and schedules/counter schedules of loss; along with advices as to liability, tactics, and matters of procedure.

Chris maintains a broad civil litigation practice, and is instructed on claims for breach of contract, for service and supply/sale of goods through to breaches of insurance contracts, and debt recovery instructions. He also has an extensive working knowledge of ‘OIC’ claims following the implementation of the Civil Liability Act 2018 and the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021, and was instructed on one of the earlier first instance decisions of Foley v QBE UK Limited that concerned applications for the production of the claimant for cross examination in claims arguing the exceptional circumstance uplift.

Chris has extensive experience in conducting credit hire hearings at Court, having been instructed over five years to conduct a vast number of stage 3 hearings, small claims and fast track trials dealing will all aspects of credit hire litigation; for both claimants and defendants. Chris combines this strong working knowledge of credit hire matters with a forensic eye for detail, and has on numerous occasions turned the course of a trial over the smallest of details contained within the evidence.

Chris has experience in challenging the veracity of engineering evidence, and has been involved in numerous cases challenging the legitimacy of purported “part 35” engineering experts and succeeded in having such evidence struck out.

Chris is confident in all arguments and aspects of credit hire matters, regardless of the value of the claim and is frequently instructions for the preparation of pleadings, defences and counter schedules for credit hire claims. He has cross examined claimants for over five years and is well versed in making submissions successfully – in keeping with the extensive cases considered by the Court of Appeal and House of Lords – for either credit hire claims to fail entirely, for want of proper need of the vehicle of enforceability of the contract, or for substantial reductions in presented claims. Chris is equally well-versed using arguments in line with Giles v Thompson, Pattni v First

Leicester Buses Limited, Irving v Morgan Sindall and Bunting v Zurich, on behalf claimants to maintained their pleaded claims in the face of unjustified challenges and “nit picking” exercises.

Chris welcomes instructions within his paperwork practice for the preparation of pleadings specific to credit hire, defences, and appropriate schedules/counter schedules of loss; along with advices as to liability, tactics, and matters of procedure.

Chris has an established practice in civil insurance fraud and is regularly instructed on behalf of defendant insurers in relation to suspicious or fraudulent insurance claims, including cases involving road traffic accidents with concerns as to causation of injury, low velocity (‘LVI’) impact, induced collisions and exaggerated claims. Chris also has experience in claims with concerns as to fabrication and exaggeration in slip and trip claims, and workplace claims.

Chris is experienced in, where the evidence supports it, in inviting the Court to make findings of fundamental dishonesty. Chris is available for instructions for the preparation of pleadings, defences, interlocutory applications, part 35 questions and schedules/counter schedules of loss; along with advices as to liability, tactics, and matters of procedure.

Chris has previous experience in property matters, and has represented landlords, tenants, and mortgage companies in a wide range of areas including possession claims, section 8 and 21 hearings, and evictions; as well as experience conducting charging order hearings. He is developing his practice in housing disrepair claims, and has experience in conducting claims at the technology and construction court; in one instance securing the strike out of a £50,000.00 disrepair claim and securing costs in favour of his client.

Chris has a developing paperwork practice and welcomes instructions for pleadings, as well as advices as to liability, tactics, and matters of procedure.

Chris is developing his regulatory and public practice, having experience in appearing at the coroners court to represent NHS trusts. He is experienced in acting on behalf of parties at all stages through to and up to the final inquest, and in assisting instructed solicitors through the procedural and documentary exercises leading up to the final inquest. Chris welcomes instructions and to advise and assist at all stages.

With his extensive experience in personal injury, Chris is ideally suited to provide continuity of representation for any civil actions for damages arising post-inquest.