Direct Access Barrister
John Meredith-Hardy
Direct Access Barrister
John Meredith-Hardy
The breadth of John’s experience across a range of subject areas is of particular assistance to professional and lay clients due to the nature of civil litigation that frequently includes, for example, insurance coverage and property damage issues, personal injury and costs, etc.
Area of Law
Insurance and Reinsurance
John is regularly instructed on coverage, indemnity & related disputes (including the duty of fair presentation) by way of public access, by insurers, the insured and insurance brokers in relation to non-consumer and consumer insurance.
Instructions include issues arising from:
• Insurance Act 2015, Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 & ICOBS.
• RTA insurance coverage, s.151 enforcement of judgments & recovery claims, the MIB, Article 75, uninsured & untraced drivers, and the Green Card scheme.
• Buildings, Contents, Products, Employers, Public liability, Professional, Legal expenses, Personal accident, Travel, Life and Medical policy terms & interpretation in relation to business and consumer insurance
• Business interruption insurance by reason of property damage and other causes of financial loss including Covid-19
• Property damage claims and related recovery actions following damage by flood, fire, explosion, storm and theft
John’s insurance work often relates to property damage and recovery actions by insurers and dovetails with his commercial and PI practices as claims involve liability issues falling within these areas of expertise.
John provides seminars on commercial and consumer insurance, and road traffic insurance relating to accidents in the UK, with a foreign element and abroad.
Personal Injury
John has significant experience acting for claimants and defendants across the full range of personal injury claims in the UK and where they have occurred abroad.
The subject matter of claims includes accidents at work including factories, oilrigs, workshops, shops & offices; Occupational disease including asbestos related conditions; Road traffic accidents involving heavy goods vehicles, cars and motorbikes; Employment, holiday and road traffic accidents abroad whilst on-land and on-ship; Road traffic accidents in England where there is a foreign element.
Instructions include injuries resulting in Brain injury, Cerebral palsy and Spinal injuries of the utmost severity; Chronic pain, Amputation and Complex injuries resulting in lifetime care & therapy, adaptive housing and ancillary services. John undertakes CICA claims of the utmost severity, concerning nervous shock and Fatal accidents.
John acts for claimants, defendants and insurers in claims relating to events outside of the UK and those within the UK with a foreign element. Claims outside of the UK include personal injuries sustained in Croatia, France, Poland, Spain, Slovakia, Gibraltar and the USA. The subject matter of the disputes have included road traffic accidents, accidents at work and whilst on holiday, with claims being litigated in England according to foreign law.
What sort of work do I do?
- Insurance: John is regularly instructed on coverage, indemnity & related disputes (including the duty of fair presentation) by insurers, the insured and insurance brokers in relation to non-consumer and consumer insurance. John provides seminars on commercial and consumer insurance, and road traffic insurance relating to accidents in the UK, with a foreign element and abroad.
- Property damage: John receives instructions in property damage claims and related recovery actions following damage by flood, fire, explosion, storm and theft. Underlying causes of action include breach of contract, negligence, nuisance and Rylands v Fletcher. Instructions include those relating to product liability and the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994, Sale of Goods Act 1979, Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, Consumer Protection Act 1987 and Consumer Rights Act 2015.
- Personal injury: John has significant experience acting for claimants and defendants across the full range of personal injury claims in the UK and where they have occurred abroad. Instructions include injuries resulting in Brain injury, Cerebral palsy and Spinal injuries of the utmost severity; Chronic pain, Amputation and Complex injuries resulting in lifetime care & therapy, adaptive housing and ancillary services.
Who do I work for?
John acts for both claimants and defendants and receives instructions via public access as well as from solicitors and insurers. John is a ‘Leading Individual’ in the Legal 500 and ranked in Chambers UK.