Williamsons Solicitors, highlighted for its clinical negligence expertise in the 2015 Legal 500 guide to law firms, has boosted its team with the appointment of experienced lawyer Simon Ramshaw.

Mr Ramshaw, who has left his partnership in another Hull practice after 30 years, is one of the longest-serving members in England on the Law Society’s Clinical Negligence Panel, on which his new Williamsons’ colleague Nick Gray also sits. With senior solicitor and head of department Tim Slow accredited to the AvMA (Action against medical accidents) panel, Williamsons is one of the few regional practices to be represented on both bodies.

Mr Ramshaw said his new role would allow him to focus entirely on his specialist field of law. He stressed the importance of looking at the long-term picture for patients in addition to winning appropriate recompense. “Obtaining a cheque for damages is only part of the story. 

Our role goes further and I have been involved with families long after the compensation claim has been settled, such as advising on the appropriate expertise needed when clients subsequently face new challenges later in life.” After a man suffered a leg amputation following hospital failings, Mr Ramshaw secured interim payments so the patient could secure the most advanced prosthetics available in the UK and go back to work while his damages settlement was still undecided. “In many ways this was just as important for this client as the eventual damages settlement which ran into the millions of pounds,” Mr Ramshaw said. 

“Unfortunately when things go wrong in healthcare, they tend to go wrong big style.” Bill Waddington, Williamsons’ director, said: “Medical accidents can happen to anyone and it is extremely important that they get proper representation. With Simon joining us, we are very well placed to look after their interests.”

Mr Ramshaw also carries out voluntary work with the AvMA charity and the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, advises on disability issues for Dial UK and helps Headway for people with brain injuries. His path to the legal profession after leaving Hymers College, Hull, was via Brunel University and the College of Law in London.

For more information on the firm and its services, see:www.williamsons-solicitors.co.uk