Jonathan Lindfield

Jonathan is an experienced, specialist personal injury barrister, whose practice encompasses all aspects of personal injury litigation.

Jonathan regularly acts for both claimants and defendants on the intermediate and multi-track, in claims worth up to £1m. His caseload often involves claims with multiple expert disciplines, complex factual matrices and causation issues. He is frequently asked to advise and act on cases where fundamental dishonesty or exaggeration is alleged.

Jonathan has expertise and experience in the whole spectrum of personal injury work but has particular interests and specialisms in claims under the Highways Act, the Animals Act, and Employers’ Liability claims. He has recently published podcasts on highway claims and which you can listen to here and on the Animals Act, which you can listen to here.

Employer’s liability cases

• Claims involving assaults by patients, service users, and looked-after children, often including significant psychological elements
• Stress at work claims
• Serious orthopaedic injuries caused by a collapsing wall on a building site, leading to avascular necrosis
• A traumatic brain injury caused by a lorry door causing the Claimant to suffer significant loss of earnings
• Partial amputation of fingers due following an accident with an industrial steel saw
• Injuries giving rise to pain conditions, upper limb disorders, and FND
• Exposure to flour dust, giving rise to baker’s asthma

Animals Act cases:

• Dog bites and strikes
• Horses spooking, bolting, and throwing riders
• Cattle charging and protecting calves, including cases where cows have caused significant multi-sited trauma
• Issues concerning the scope of the Animals Act and its application
• The nature of a “servant” for the purposes of the Act

Highways Act cases:

• Identifying what is/is not a highway maintainable at public expense for the purposes of the Act
• Identifying and exploring the extent of the McGeown defence
• Advising on when/whether to include Statutory Undertakers in a claim
• A pothole cycling accident leading to significant shoulder injuries and lifelong restrictions
• A tripping accident leading to a fractured ankle and lifelong restriction in mobility

Jonathan is also increasingly involved in claims involving mTBI, pain conditions, and FND. He is aware of the technical and detailed nature of these claims and works well with experts on these issues.

Jonathan has also delivered multiple specialist training sessions on costs, including the new fixed costs and intermediate track, and is happy to be approached to deliver that talk to any firms who would benefit from it.

Priding himself on his client service, Jonathan enjoys good working relationships with his clients and can be relied upon to deal with paperwork promptly and effectively.  He is acutely aware of the pressures and time constraints that those instructing him are under, he considers himself member of the legal team rather than a solo practitioner and is very pleased to deal with urgent requests and tight deadlines.

A robust advocacy style ensures that Jonathan is in high demand for trial work, and he has appeared in courts all across England and Wales.  An approachable and personable character, he helps to put both professional and lay clients at ease.

He is happy to accept work on a CFA basis where suitable.

Jonathan also acts as an associate examiner for the Bar Standards Board for the Civil Litigation section of the Bar Training Course.