Dominic has been in practice at Temple Garden Chambers since 1997 and has developed a broad regulatory health and safety criminal and civil practice. He specializes in health and safety, inquests, personal injury and product liability and related insurance matters. He was appointed a silk in 2020.
Health & Safety
Dominic has a well-established health safety practice which has seen his involvement in some of the most of high profile and significant health & safety cases. Shortly before taking silk he was named as the Health and Safety Junior of the Year at the Chambers Bar Awards in 2018.
Dominic regularly appears in the Court of Appeal and Crown Court representing duty-holders in prosecutions under the HSWA 1974 following both fatal and non-fatal accidents. He was successful in two of the most significant Court of Appeal decisions relating to sentencing very large organisations under the Sentencing Guidelines for Health and Safety Offences.
He has experience representing individuals as well as companies of all sizes (including some of the largest operating in the United Kingdom). He has worked on cases across a wide range of industries/sectors including: steel manufacturing, rail, construction, security, waste management, healthcare, residential care, education, sports and leisure. He has particular interest in cases involving explosions and fires.
Dominic also represents duty-holders in other regulatory matters under the HSWA 1974 (e.g. appeals against prohibition and improvement notices) and environmental and food safety prosecutions.
Inquests & Inquiries
In the field of inquests, he has acted in some of the most high-profile inquests in recent years. He acted for the families of two of the victims of the Westminster Terrorist attacks. This involved consideration of the security arrangements at the Palace of Westminster. He also acted for the family of one of the victims in the London Bridge Terrorist Attack. He represented the Independent Police Complaints Commission in the Inquest into the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster.
Dominic regularly acts for duty holders in fatal industrial accidents he also acts for duty-holders in related coroner’s inquests.
He has previously acted in public inquiries following public disasters (e.g. Southall and Ladbroke Grove rail crashes).
Product Liability
In the field of product liability, Dominic typically, though not exclusively, represents large scale manufacturers, producers and distributors. He has advised companies based in the UK, the EU and beyond. He has experience of civil litigation concerning a wide variety of products including domestic appliances (e.g. televisions, white goods, heating systems), industrial equipment, vehicle/motorcycle/cycle manufacturing and medical components. He has advised on a wide range of issues including duties and liabilities under consumer protection and product safety legislation including product recalls, insurance coverage disputes, inquests related to product safety and related regulatory prosecutions.
Personal Injury
He acts for both claimants and defendants in personal injury matters. He has broad experience of catastrophic injury claims (e.g. brain damage, paraplegia and amputee claims) as well as claims arising out of less serious injuries. Dominic also acts in fatal accidents claims.
Dominic has experience of group litigation including cases where Group Litigation Orders (GLO) have been issued as well as large multi-Claimant non-GLO cases relating to domestic products and foodstuffs.