Introducing the Fletchers Solicitors’ Group Action Team

Leading the Way in Group Medical Negligence Claims

At Fletchers Solicitors, we handle more medical negligence claims than any other firm in the UK. With this breadth of experience, we began noticing patterns—clients suffering from the same issues, whether from substandard treatment by the same surgeon or faulty medical products affecting multiple individuals. To address these cases efficiently and ensure access to justice for as many people as possible, the Group Actions Team was formed.

Our Group Actions Team specialises in medical negligence cases where multiple individuals are impacted by the same issue, whether that’s substandard treatment from a surgeon or a defective medical device. By bringing together claims from those affected, we provide the strength of collective action, giving individuals the opportunity to pursue compensation that might otherwise seem out of reach. For many of our clients, Fletchers can represent their best chance for justice—even in cases outside the usual limitation period or where damages may not be as high as some other firms would accept.

The Strength in Numbers

By identifying trends in poor medical treatment or the use of defective products, we can gather claims into group actions, which offer several advantages:

• Collective strength: Clients benefit from the power of multiple voices, increasing the likelihood of a successful outcome.
• Efficient case progression: Due to our continued dialogue with defendants and experience on similar group actions, we often see cases resolved quicker than individual claims.
• Expertise and insight: We identify and highlight common issues across cases—whether it’s missing medical records or recurring surgical errors—enabling us to form cohesive strategies for all claimants involved.
• Collaboration: We build strong working relationships with our opponents to produce the best outcome for all our clients by minimizing areas of dispute.
• Support: we have sustained working support groups for our clients through meetings and newsletters to ensure that they always feel listened to.

Our Team of Experts

The Group Actions Department is overseen by Christian Beadell and Andrew Hesketh, supported by a dedicated team of medical negligence specialists.

Christian has a wealth of experience in Group Actions having been involved in the MMR, DePuy Hip, BHR and ODPL (opiate dependant prisoners) litigation. He previously represented claims against Liverpool Women’s Hospital involving over 700 women who had undergone invasive and unnecessary urogynaecological procedures and which ran under the first NHS/Claimant joint Group Action Protocol. Andrew is one of the Clinical Negligence Heads of Department and supervises and oversees the work carried out by all the group action teams. He has over 20 years of legal experience, has extensive litigation experience and helps to guide the teams in driving the cases forwards and providing support through litigation.

Francesca Paul, a Partner at Fletchers, is one of the senior lawyers driving the growth of the Group Actions Team. Francesca leads one of the first teams formed to handle group actions and has overseen cases ranging from smaller groups to those with over 100 claimants. One of the most significant group actions she has led involves claimants impacted by the orthopaedic surgeon Mr. Jeremy Parker in Colchester.

Amy Kirk initially joined Francesca’s team when the Jeremy Parker case grew beyond capacity. Amy now leads her own team, focusing on the initial assessments of group actions. Most recently, Amy’s team has been at the forefront of the group action concerning former orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar, a case that has garnered significant media attention. It was through our efforts that the first affected family was willing to share their story publicly.

Susannah Campbell leads another crucial team. Susannah’s team handles complex cases and collaborates with Francesca’s team, in relation to the claims involving John Bradley Williamson. Her team has a particular interest in maximizing the value of individual claims within a group setting.

Matthew Mitchell, having gained invaluable group action experience from working within Francesca Paul’s team, now successfully leads his own team who are quickly growing their own portfolio of Group Action work. Having initially worked on the Marcus Cope and Jeremy Parker group actions, Matthew’s team now has involvement in groups against Mr Mian Munawar Shah, Bristol Heart Institute, as well as several other newer groups which are being investigated.

Emma Edwards who is a Solicitor and Team leader in collaboration with Francesca leads the group action claims against Mr Mian Munawar Shah, a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon who operated in the Walsall Manor Hospital and the Spire Hospital from 2010 to 2020. She represents over 100 clients who have suffered a range of issues including total loss of use of their arm, constant pain, loss of movement and inability to carry out basic tasks.

Why Fletchers is a Market Leader in Group Actions

Fletchers are a large firm and there is strength in our scale. We are able to utilize the most up to date technology to assist with the progression of cases and we are able to take on more cases than some smaller firms. We have the ability to spot trends and areas of concern early on is unmatched. The vast data we collect from handling thousands of medical negligence claims puts us in a prime position to identify group actions before they emerge as widespread issues.

As our Group Actions Team continues to expand we remain focused on helping more people where our collective action approach can be the best approach and for some who might otherwise be left without recourse. Our commitment to clients is simple: if you’ve been affected by poor medical treatment or a defective product, Fletchers is here to help, no matter the scale of the issue or the complexity of the case.