Chris Taft

Insurance Fraud

Chris is a personal injury specialist. He has many years’ experience as an advocate regularly undertaking trials involving allegations of fraud and s.57 issues. The bulk of his fraud work involved defending RTA claims for personal injury and associated losses, although he has significant experience also of advising and appearing in cases involving allegations off factitious injury and exaggeration outside of the road traffic setting. He has considerable experience of dealing (in conference, on paper and at trial) with the medical issues (particularly orthopaedic, pain and psychiatric) that such cases often generate.

In the period 2013-2018 Chris was appointed to the Treasury Panel and regularly undertook advisory and court work on behalf of government departments, in particular the DWP, the Home Office and the Prison Service.

Chris’s approach is collaborative. During a case he seeks to maintain close contact with and obtain the benefit of the experience of his instructing solicitor.

The following represent recent examples of Chris’s fraud work.

– Lightburn v Tata (Feb, 2020), Chester County Court

Multi-track trial on liability following an accident at work in which the claimant lost several fingers when he caught his hand in an industrial machine. The claimant was the only witness to the accident. Defended on the grounds that the claimant’s account of the accident circumstances was dishonest. Cross-examination of the claimant directed at demonstrating that his account should not be accepted. Claim dismissed on the ground that the claimant’s account could not be relied upon. (Solicitors: Clyde & Co)

– Khan v ERS (Feb, 2020), St Helen’s County Court

The claimant was a former barrister. Claim for personal injury following RTA. Defended on the basis that the claimant’s account could not be accepted as honest by reference to vehicle damage, his account of the accident and his injuries and his medical history. The claimant was the only witness. Claim dismissed. (Solicitors: DAC Beachcroft)

– Zafar and others v. Axa (Dec, 2019), Oxford County Court

The claimant were all minors at the time of a road traffic accident in which they all claimed to have been injured. Their mother was their litigation friend and she supported their claim. The claims were denied on the grounds of dishonesty by reference to the nature of the impact and the unreliable medical evidence. The defendant was not available to attend trial and the only evidence heard was that of the three claimants and their mother. Following cross-examination of two of the claimants and their mother, the claims were all dismissed on the grounds of dishonesty. QOCS was disapplied and the litigation friend was ordered to pay the defendant’s costs on the grounds that she was either the architect of or at least complicit in the generation of the claims. (Solicitors: Weightmans)

– Asghar v. Galliford (Oct, 2019) Sheffield County Court

RTA defence on the basis of dishonesty as to the accident circumstances. The judge preferred the account of the defendant and was persuaded to disapply QOCS on the basis that the claimant could not realistically have been mistaken as to the accident circumstances and must therefore have known that his version of events was not dishonest, which (the judge accepted) must amount to fundamental dishonesty within the meaning of CPR 44.16. (Solicitors: Weightmans)

Personal Injury

Chris has specialised in personal injury work for nearly 20 years. He acts for both Claimants and Defendants. He has extensive experience of the full-range of multi-track personal injury work, including road traffic accidents, accidents at work, public liability, disease, deafness, consumer protection, stress and abuse. He has a loyal following of solicitors in the personal injury field.

Following his appointment to the Treasury Panel in 2012 Chris has acted on numerous occasions for central government departments in personal injury cases.

Chris is frequently instructed in cases involving large losses and where there is serious dispute between the medical experts. He understands the importance of a careful examination of the evidence – and particularly the medical evidence – and he will devote the time to a case that the evidence issues and the evidence demand.

He has considerable experience of pain cases, both CRPS and the more generalised pain conditions in relation to which the genuineness of the presentation and medical causation are so often bones of contention.

Chris understands the importance of legal and technical knowledge, but the importance also of developing a rapport with lay clients and of seeing both sides of the case. He has conducted innumerable Joint Settlement Meetings and has successfully mediated a matter which was listed for final hearing in the Court of Appeal.

Chris has a niche practice appearing before the CICAP and CICB, having for many years received instructions to act on behalf of injured police officers.

Recent examples of Chris’s personal injury work include:

– Represented self-employed oil trader in his claim in respect of subtle brain injury. Hotly contested medical evidence from a number of specialisms. Case settled at JSM for £250k.

– Advised and represented a police officer who suffered a career-ending shoulder injury when he fell through a ceiling in a fight with a suspect during a raid on a domestic property. Claim against Chief Constable. Liability disputed and allegations of failure of risk assessment and operation planning at a high level. Case settled shortly before 4 day trial.

– Advised and represented a police officer who suffered a career-ending shoulder injury when he fell through a ceiling in a fight with suspect during a raid on a domestic property. Claim against Chief Constable as the officer’s notional employer. Allegations of inadequate operation planning and risk assessment at a high level. Liability disputed but case settled on favourable terms shortly before 4 day trial due to commence.

– Advised and represented a number of police officers who suffered burn and other injuries when a suspect committed suicide by detonating a van packed with explosives in Liverpool city centre. Issues arose as to the insurer’s liability to meet the claim under the insurance provisions of the Road Traffic Act. Matter settled very shortly before trial.

– Advised the claimant adult in his claim against the local authority based on its failure to find him an adoptive family following his freeing for adoption more than 20 years earlier. Matter settled at JSM. (Led by Michael Rawlinson KC).

Serious Injury 

Chris has a large multi-track practice, regularly acting for both claimants and defendants in higher value claims arising out of road traffic accidents, accidents and work and public liability. He has particular experience of acting for officers injured in the course of their duty.

He regularly appears in trials and acts at JSM’s in cases of higher value.

Recent examples of his work include:

• Settlement at JSM, unled, of a spinal injury claim against the MOD for provisional damages in excess of £3m.
• Successful liability defence at trial in relation to serious injuries caused by an allegedly dangerous dog in a public place.
• Successful liability defence at trial of a claim involving loss of the part of the claimant’s hand in a piece of industrial machinery.
• Successful representation at trial of a claimant police officer injured during self-defence training, despite the force calling numerous police witnesses of fact in opposition to the claimant’s version of events.
• Successful prosecution of a claim for serious injuries caused by an assault by a child service user on a care worker.
• Representation of a care worker who lost part of a finger when bitten by a severely autistic adult in her care. (Liability denied, case settled on the eve of trial.)
• Successful settlement at JSM of the claim of a care worker who suffered serious psychiatric injury as the result of a knife attack by a service user.
• Settlement at JSM on behalf of a senior police officer injured in a road traffic accident. Liability dispute involving engineering evidence. Officer remained in role but settlement achieved in the sum of £275,000 on the basis of loss of promotion prospects.

Notable Cases

• Engel v. The Joint Committee for PATROL [2013] ICR 1086
• Laing v. Manchester City Council [2006] IRLR 748

Associations

Personal Injury Bar Association

Employment Law Bar Association

Education

LLB (Hons) Manchester University

Awards

Jules Thorn Memorial Scholarship, Middle Temple

Prescribed Infromation

Chris is a practising barrister, who is regulated by the Bar Standards Board. Details of information held by the BSB about Chris can be found here.

Chris’s clerks will happily provide no obligation quotations for all legal services that he provides. Their contact details can be found here. It is most common for ChrisC to undertake Court and Tribunal services for a brief fee plus additional refresher days. For advisory work, drafting and conferences it is most commonly charged at an hourly rate. Conditional Fee Agreements and Damages Based Agreements will be considered in cases with favourable prospects of success. Chris will typically return paperwork within 14 days, however professional commitments, complexity and volume of documentation can affect these approximate timescales.