Brian Cummins

Brian has represented both Claimants and Defendants, in a variety of hearings for over 20 years.

He has also appeared on behalf of bereaved families and employees, in Jury and Coroner only Inquests, concerning: rail crashes; death in custody; RTA; social services welfare and work accident Inquests.

He has a sound and common sense manner in conference, putting clients at ease, and readily explaining complex matters in a comprehensible way.

He accepts CFA and CCFA claims. Brian has provided seminars on a variety of personal injury topics. He is a member of APIL, and PIBA.

He has worked in-house for a local authority, at a Law Centre, and experienced schemes at: Barristers’ Chambers in Brisbane; City Solicitors' offices in London; and with an Attorney at Law, in Richmond, Virginia, USA.

Brian was called to the Bar in 1992 and is a Queen Mother Scholar. He graduated from UCL, and has an LL.M. degree from the University of London.

• Kerry-Ann Johnson -v- Commissioner of Police for Metropolis - Successful claim against the Met Police, regarding its CS spray training of Police Officers.
• Inquest touching death of Keith Murphy (deceased) - Prison Inquest following death of inmate after ingestion of synthetic chemical or cannabinoid substances, or ‘Legal High’.
• Knight & Others V Refresco Gerber (UK) Ltd - Successful Industrial Illness, Group Litigation claim - on behalf of injured employees.

In his Personal Injury practise, Brian represents both Claimant and Defendant clients in Trade Union, CFA, CCFA & Insurer funded claims.

He is instructed by national and regional firms, at both High and County Court levels. He undertakes Joint Settlement Meetings, securing significant awards for Claimants in ‘Ogden Disability’ and other claims.

Brian has extensive advocacy experience from trials and court applications, in addition to advising, settling case statements, Schedules and Counter Schedules of Loss, professional and lay conferences, mediations, and round table discussions.

Brian undertakes multi-track claims involving RTA; MIB; Employers Liability; HSWA; Fatal Accident; Occupiers Liability; Industrial Injury & Illness; Rail crash litigation, Brain injury, Paraplegia claims and Quantum only disposal hearings.

Brian also undertakes CICA applications, securing significant awards.

Brian was Junior Counsel to Nigel Cooksley QC, representing Claimants in landmark litigation against the National Dock Labour Board.

Fraud
Brian is an experienced personal injury litigator, with in excess of 20 years’ experience. He is on the approved 'Counsel' list for the fraud team of a national Defendant firm of solicitors.

He has conducted trials on issues such as collusion between parties to 'stage' accidents, and exaggerated and fabricated loss and damage claims.

He advises on, and conducts requests for information searches. Brian also analyses expert engineering and surveillance evidence, and Enquiry Agent and Loss Adjustor investigations and reports.

He has lectured on 'Reducing the value of large PI claims' and 'The over-ambitious or fraudulent PI Claimant'.

Brian has extensive experience of Jury and Coroner only Inquest hearings, representing Bereaved families and Trade Union clients as interested parties, in hearings over several weeks duration.

Brian was Junior Counsel to John Hendy QC, representing the bereaved families at the Potters Bar Inquest (2010).

He regularly appears in Workplace Health & Safety Inquests, where employees have been crushed or otherwise fatally injured, operating machinery or in unsafe systems of work.

He has also appeared on behalf of: parents of children subject to local authority involvement (foster placements, hard to reach young adolescents); Prison Officers, following: deaths in custody from suicide, murder by another inmate, suicide occurring during a strike; the family of a deceased rail worker hit by a train; employees killed by carbon monoxide poisoning at a London Underground premises.

Brian has also undertaken many civil applications under the CPR, including: admissibility of expert evidence (medical, non-medial, life expectancy experts); cost capping; interim payments; provisional damages; strike out; relief from sanction.

Notable reported cases include:

• in the Court of Appeal: Ammah v Kuehne & Nagal Logistics (2009); Garrett v. Saxby (2004); Zimbler v. Miller (2000);Karbachian v. Parvazian (1998);
• in the High Court: Rice & Thompson v National Dock Labour Board & Others (2008); Tolley v. Kershaw (2006);
• in the County Court: FHG Publications Ltd v. Tee-Hillman (2000);
• In the HM Coroner's Court: re Ismay (2014); re Barry (2013); Potters Bar (2010); re Aziz (2007); and re Mungovan (2002).