Andrew Buchan

Call: 1981

Call 020 7827 4000

Expertise

  • Arbitration and Mediation

  • Clinical Negligence

  • Employment

  • Personal Injury

  • Public and Administrative Law

  • Andrew Buchan is a clinical negligence and personal injury specialist.

    Andrew has experience of a wide range of clinical negligence claims from high value brain injury, cerebral palsy and missed spinal injury claims, to claims including ambulance delays, failure to diagnose meningitis, failure to diagnose leukaemia and other types of cancer, and dental negligence claims.

    His experience in personal injury covers road traffic claims, including severe spinal injury claims, workplace claims and disease claims, including fatal accident claims, work related upper limb disorder claims, manual handling claims, work equipment claims, working at height claims and claims for harassment and occupational stress.

    Andrew is a co-author of Schedules of Loss: Calculating Damages, the leading practitioner textbook on schedules of loss, now in its third edition. He published the celebrated LAG Guide to Personal Injury Practice in 1991 and is currently working on updating Lewis on Clinical Negligence.

    In the employment sphere, Andrew has recently been working on the Working Time Directive and Regulations 1998. In the Sayers case he argued that these Regulations should give rise to civil liability at Common Law. He was instructed to intervene on behalf of the NUT (on questions of European law) in the case of Eastwood v Magnox (House of Lords, jurisdiction of the Employment Tribunal to deal with personal injury claims). He took Sheriff v Klyne Tugs (Lowestoft) Ltd to the Court of Appeal in 1999 (jurisdiction of employment tribunal for personal injury cases). He also practices in employment law cases concerning psychiatric injury. He is an accredited mediator with CEDR (the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution). Many of his cases settle after mediation.

    He was junior counsel in the groundbreaking case of Walker v Northumberland County Council, the first successful claim for stress at work. He lectures widely on the subject of occupational stress and bullying claims, and has represented hundreds of claimants and defendants reaching settlements for both first and second breakdown cases.

  • Legal 500 2025: (Personal Injury) “Andrew is highly experienced, especially in the field of occupational stress. He is technically excellent and willing to push boundaries, taking on cases that are very difficult.”

    Legal 500: "A leading junior in stress claims."

    Chambers Personal Injury Barrister 2011.

  • PIBA (Executive 1995-2005)

    AvMA

    ELBA

    Bar Council Member (1995-2003)

  • Co-author of Schedules of Loss: Calculating Damages, the leading practitioner textbook on schedules of loss. Published the celebrated 1991 LAG Guide to Personal Injury Practice.

    Editor and co-author of Clinical Negligence, in print, Tottel Publishers.

    Editor and co-author of: Personal Injury Practice: The Guide to Litigation in the County Court and the High Court, 5th Edition 2008, Tottel Publishers.

    Co-Author of "Personal Injury Schedules, Calculating Damages", 3rd Edition 2010, Tottel Publishers

  • LLB. (Hons) Leeds

  • Personal Injury

    Cronin v. British Sub Aqua Club and others (2019) Fatal diving accident.

    Mr Showkat Ali v Shell UK Oil Products Ltd (2019) Personal Injury, slip on petrol station forecourt.

    Keith Willis v. Makerstudy Insurance Group and Hannah Kelly (2014) Road traffic accident, learner driver injuring instructor.

    Mrs Amanda Blizzard -v- Defra (2014) Personal injury whilst testing cows.

    Mark Ferris v. Peter John Smith (2012) Personal injury case involving amputation of motor cyclist's leg

    R & C Clark v. Bournemouth Vineyard Christian Fellowship (2012) Employment and personal injury case; claimant claims psyschological injury as a result of disciplinary process.

    Dhana Khalil v Dr Mohannad Barakat and the North Bristol NHS Trust (2012) (first case to consider defamation causing injury and the meaning of defamation re the relevance of religious belief)

    Clinical Negligence Cases

    RE: X (2019) Clinical Negligence consent, cervical mesh.

    RE: Howard Piper (2019) Clinical negligence consent, cobalt poisoning.

    Gary Staples v. Dr Balkisan Chandak (2017) GP negligence claim, failure to diagnose high blood pressure leading to life changing injury.

    Dhana Khalil v Dr Mohannad Barakat and the North Bristol NHS Trust (2012) (first case to consider defamation causing injury and the meaning of defamation re the relevance of religious belief)

    Biles v. Barking Health Authority (1987) Kemp & Kemp Vol. 2 F012. First ever negligent sterilization case

    In 1993 he acted for an US Air Force Sergeant who had received negligent medical treatment on a US base in the UK: Littrell v. United States of America [1994] PIQR p. 141 CA.

    In 1995 he brought the first successful claim for damages caused by a twisting masonoeuve fracture during childbirth: Gerard v. North West Anglia Health Authority [January 1996, AVMA L&MJ].

    In 1996 he brought one of the first successful cases for negligent stillbirth: Re: C, April 1996, Personal and Medical Injuries Law Letter PMILL.

    North Essex District Health Authority v. Spargo [1997] Med LR 125, [1995] 7 Med LR 221.

    Forbes v Wandsworth Health Authority [1997] 1QB 402, CA.

    Drury v. Grimsby Health Authority [1997] Med LR 38- limitation, Section 33 discretion, inappropriate medical advice.

    In 1997 he brought the first successful case concerning a GP's failure to diagnose a subarachnoid haemorrhage: Stasziewicz v. Nottingham Health Authority [January 1997, AVMA L&MJ].

    In 1997 he brought a successful claim for the negligence treatment of a fracture by an orthopaedic surgeon: Pasfield v. South Essex Health Authority [March 1997, AVMA L&MJ].

    In 1998 he brought the first case concerning cervical cancer treatment causing infected tissue and fistula formation: Re Evans [1998] January AVMA M&LJ p. 26.

    In 1998 he brought one of the first successful claim for failed sterilization. Failure of the filshie clip. Lack of histopathology evidence: Bailey v. Grimsby and Scunthorpe Health Authority [1998] AVMA M&LJ p. 118.

    He has conducted several successful cases against ambulance services e.g.: Burt v. Hereford & Worcester A. Service [September 1997 L&MJ Action for Victims of Medical Accidents AVMA L&MJ].

    He has conducted many cases concerning consent to treatment e.g.: Elms v. S and Bromsgrove Redditch Health Authority and West Midlands Regional Health Authority [1998] AVMA M&LJ 121. Posterior cruciate ligament repair/history osteomyelitis/ consent/failure of surgery. Stereotactic radiosurgery.

    Winton v. Grimsby & Scunthorpe HA [March 1997, AVMA L&MJ] - gynaecology/termination of pregnancy/retained products of conception

    Stress and Bullying Cases

    John Bloomfield -v- AIG Limited (2018) Stress at work caused by overwork.

    Syed Hussain v. HM Prison Service (2018) Failure to properly manage exposure to suicide of inmates.

    Dr Theodore Piepenbrock v. The London School of Economics and Political Science (2018) Stress at work, failure to manage allegations of harassment.

    Caroline Hadley v. Redbridge Borough Council (2018) Bullying by head teacher.

    Robert Welsford v. The Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police (2017) Bullying at work.

    Angus Forrest -and- Ladesbank Hessen-Thuringen Girozentrale (2013) Stress at work due to overwork.

    Bryony Hodgson v. Co-Op Group Limited (2012) (workplace harassment)

    Lee v. Ministry of Defence (2009) (first successful psychological bullying in the army)

    Lee v. Ministry of Defence (2009) (first successful settlement of a case concerning psychological bullying in the army)

    Dawson v. Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council (2009) (successful settlement of a claim by a teacher who was required to work at all levels in a primary school, without appropriate training)

    Eastwood v Magnox [2004] 3 WLR 322 HL Intervener on points of European law.

    Dawson v. Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council (2009) teacher who was required to work at all levels in a primary

    Deadman v. Bristol City Council (2008) PIQR P2 (Incorporation of harassment policy into the contract of employment)

    Spencer v. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2009] 2WLR 593 (Limitation periods for Francovich claims

    Sayers v. Cambridge Borough Council [2007] IRLR 29 (overwork case, caused by system and long hours)

    Deadman v. Bristol City Council (2008) PIQR P2 (Incorporation contract of employment)

    Spencer v. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (Domestic limitation periods for Francovich claims)

    Sayers v. Cambridge BoroughWalker v Co-operative Insurance Services (workplace bullying)

    Eastwood v Magnox (points of European law)

    Barber v SomersetCC (stress at work HL leading case)

    Waters v. The Chief Metropolitan Police Commissioner [2000] 1 WLR 1607 HL (bullying of female police officer by fellow officers)

    Long v Mercury Mobile (2001) unreported bullying case

    Barber v Somerset County Council [2004] 2 ALLER 385 HL, (stress at work HL leading case)

    Walker v. Northumberland County Council [1995] 1 All E.R. 737.

    Walker v Co-Operative Insurance Services (1997) (workplace bullying)

    Sheriff v. Klyne Tugs (Lowestoft) Ltd (1999) ICR 1170 – jurisdiction of employment tribunal for personal injury (discrimination) cases.

    Commercial Cases

    RE: J Spence, P Brewer and K Williams v Truvis (2019) Commercial case, breach of contract.

    Employment Cases

    Sharmila Chowdhury v. Health Service Authority (2018) Whistleblowing employment case.

“Andrew is highly experienced, especially in the field of occupational stress. He is technically excellent and willing to push boundaries, taking on cases that are very difficult.” - Legal 500 2025

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