James is the head of our Medical Negligence and Personal Injury practice and joined the firm in 2023 from Hodge, Jones & Allen. He has undertaken medical negligence and personal injury cases for over 30 years.
Throughout his career James has dealt with a very wide range of cases concerning all types of negligence claims – delayed diagnosis cases, birth injuries, anaesthetic injuries, surgical errors, GP and hospital negligence, all types of orthopaedic claims, including complex hip and knee replacement surgery claims and all types of cancer cases.
He has pursued cases against NHS and private hospitals, General Practitioners and many disciplines of private treatment providers. He is also very experienced in dealing with insurance companies and their appointed legal teams in personal injury claims.
James joined Hodge Jones & Allen from Slater & Gordon Lawyers where he was head of their London clinical negligence team and oversaw the Ian Paterson and De Puy ASR group actions. Prior to this he was an equity partner at Christian Khan where he acted for many injured and bereaved in the Potters Bar and Ladbroke Grove train crashes.
James has dedicated himself to assisting those who have been injured in accidents of all types. He takes great pride in adopting a mature, common sense approach to his work and recognises the stress of litigation upon all those involved in the process. His aim is always to try to quickly obtain a liability decision which can then allow interim payments to be made, to assist an injured person back to work, help secure more suitable accommodation or aids and equipment. He has a large number of contacts with good expert witnesses with whom he has worked for many years.
James is also ranked in Chambers UK and is noted as a Key Lawyer in Legal 500.
publications
-
Three-year-old girl died from sepsis just 10 hours after being admitted to A&E - because 'doctors failed to recognise her symptoms - Daily Mail, September 2024
-
YOUNG LIFE LOST Girl, 3, dies just hours after going to A&E because ‘doctors didn’t recognise her symptoms’ – leaving family devastated - The Sun, September 2024
-
Girl, 3, dies hours after going to A&E because 'doctors didn't recognise her symptoms' - Express, September 2024
-
Girl, 3, dies hours after going to Broomfield A&E because 'doctors didn't recognise her symptoms' - Essex Live, September 2024
-
Inquest examines Essex hospital sepsis protocols after death of three-year-old - ClaimsMedia, September 2024
-
-
-
No-fault NHS compensation system: Equality but not equity | Opinion | Law Gazette
RECENT CASES
-
Coroner's inquest following the death from sepsis of 3 year old Zadie Ajetunmobi.
-
Brain injury suffered at birth - as a result of a delay in performing a caesarean section upon his mother. The Claimant received a substantial lump sum and annual payments for life, which, on a capitalised basis, are equivalent to an award of just under £21 million. This is one the largest ever awarded in the UK for this type of case.
-
Cerebral palsy claim – James settled a claim for a young man who was brain damaged at birth due to his delayed delivery. The final award approved by the court was for lump sum payments of £3.3m sterling and €5m euros. Additionally the claimant will receive €355,900 (index linked) per annum to fund his care package.
-
Nerve injury during routine scoliosis surgery – £290,000 awarded against a well-regarded spinal surgeon in respect of a severely debilitating spinal nerve injury caused during a routine scoliosis surgery. Following the initial surgery, two further surgeries were performed in quick succession which caused further trauma. The case was very complex on the issue of consent and causation.
-
Failure to diagnose and treat Vitamin D deficiency - the Claimant was a dialysis patient whose condition was not appropriately monitored. She was awarded £400,000 in respect of bone fractures caused by a failure to treat her condition over a period of many years.
WHAT CLIENTS AND THE DIRECTORIES SAY
James Bell has been exemplary in looking after our case. He has struck the perfect balance for us in pursuing our claim in a delicate and supportive manner. We are very grateful to him for all his guidance and care. I would happily recommend him to friends and family if ever needed.
Client feedback, 2025
James is a highly experienced litigator, handling cases of the highest order and complexity.
Legal 500, 2023
James is hugely experienced, with great judgement and tactical nous. Fights hard for his clients and gets great results. In addition to excellent case preparation skills he has a very nice manner with injury victims.
Legal 500, 2022
He has good client care skills and makes it an easy process for his clients. He's also intuitive and has good judgement.
Chambers UK, 2021
He is incredibly caring towards his clients and nothing is too much trouble for him.
Chambers UK, 2021
Hugely experienced and knowledgeable.
Legal 500, 2021
He is an excellent lawyer and procedurally is absolutely brilliant.
Chambers UK, 2019
Warm, empathetic lawyer, who never forgets the personal dimension in each case.
Legal 500, 2019
