Timothy Grice
Call 1975 (Middle Temple)
Qualifications MA (Oxon)
Professional Membership Personal Injury Bar Association
Judicial Office Recorder (2000)
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Background
Tim practises exclusively in personal injury and clinical negligence law. Until 2008 he was head of the St John’s personal injury and clinical negligence practice groups. He undertakes an extensive range of multi-track personal injury and clinical negligence cases including catastrophic brain and spinal injury, high value and fatal claims and accidents resulting in death.
Areas of Practice
Personal Injury
Tim undertakes a wide range of personal injury cases including, in particular, employer’s liability claims. He has a particular interest in cases of factual and medical, psychological and psychiatric complexity. Recent cases have included claims involving:
- Severe brain injury
- Spinal injury
- Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome
- Severe musculo-skeletal injury
- Fibromyalgia
- Pain disorders
- Stress and bullying at work
- Freezing and Non-Freezing Cold Injury – particularly Armed Services personnel
- Trauma and Multiple Sclerosis
Clinical Negligence
Recent cases have included claims involving:
- Obstetric and gynaecological injuries
- Catastrophic failures of laparoscopic surgery and management of laparoscopic injuries
- Failures to diagnose and treat cancer
- Negligent management and/or surgery in cases of orthopaedic and musculo-skeletal injury
- Cauda equina syndrome
- GP, dental and opthalmic negligence
Seminars
Tim regularly gives lectures and seminars on legal topics with an emphasis on practical aspects of legal practice. Recent lecture subjects have included:
- Calculation and pleading of pension loss
- Fatal accident claims
- Recent developments in the law on vicarious liability
- Section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980
- Contributory negligence in motor and cycle claims
- Issues in relation to high value quantum cases.
Reported Cases
- Broadfield v Meyrick Estate Management [2011] CA 27/7/2011 – extent of obligation on employers in relation to the provision and handrails on staircases under Regulation 12(5) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
- Beggs v Jenkins [2011] Civ 953 – evidential weight of centrally important witness unfit to attend court.
- Edwards-Tubb v J D Wetherspoon plc [2011] Civ EWCA Civ 313 – disclosure of privileged pre-action expert reports.
- Palmer v Cornwall County Council [2009] EWCA Civ 456 – duty of playground supervision and care by a school.
- Verlander v Devon Waste Management [2007] EWCA Civ 835 – resolution of liability by reference to the burden of proof, in circumstances where the evidence was insufficiently clear to justify findings of fact either way.
- Davies v Molyneux [2006] Civ 607 – assessment of future earnings in a young claimant where current lack of capacity for work arose from pain disorder rather than direct physical injury.
- Burgess v Plymouth City Council [2005] EWCA Civ 1659 – breach of Regulation 12(3) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 where the person injured was a cleaner employed to remove or tidy away the object over which she tripped.
- Clare v Perry [2005] EWCA Civ 39 – duty of an occupier for injuries arising from deliberate or unforeseeable acts by a visitor.
- James v Butler [2005] EWCA Civ 1014 – the duty of care owed to a householder injured by a neighbour assisting with building works.
- Nixon v F J Morris The Times February 6th 2001- the potential link between trauma and the onset of Multiple Sclerosis
Other activities
Tim sits as a Recorder in the County and Crown Courts. He is a committee member and currently vice-president of the Bristol Medico-Legal Society. He supports and is on the panel of the Bar Pro Bono Unit.
Recommendations
Chambers UK 2012
- Personal Injury: Timothy Grice is mainly known for his representation of claimants in serious injury and clinical negligence cases. During the year, he has handled two significant brain injury cases, one for a four-year-old child injured in a traffic accident.
- Clinical Negligence: Eminent advocate Timothy Grice earns praise for his “excellent service and consistently speedy responses and turnaround times.”
Chambers UK 2011
- Negotiating a predominantly claimant practice, the “outstanding” Timothy Grice has a “terrific eye for detail,” and is widely regarded as a good choice for a broad range of high-value personal injury matters. His recent work highlights include the case of Rodriguez v Evans, which involved brain injury to a builder following the collapse of some scaffolding.
Chambers UK 2010
- Timothy Grice is considered to be an excellent choice of senior barrister for complex and sensitive cases. Solicitors explain that “he has a good rapport with clients, really knows his stuff and is great with the families.” He is particularly good on fatal injury cases.
Chambers UK 2009
- Timothy Grice, is a junior whose clients “always go to him on the difficult industrial disease cases.” He “combines brilliant, feisty advocacy with a thoughtful and considerate manner when dealing with clients.”
Legal 500 2011
- Claimant-focused Timothy Grice handles high-value catastrophic injury and complex clinical negligence cases, and is “excellent with technical special damage claims”.
Legal 500 2010
- Tim Grice has wide experience of high-value catastrophic claims.
Legal 500 2009
- Timothy Grice of St John’s Chambers succeeded for the claimant in Palmer v Cornwall County Council, (the playground stone-throwing litigation).
