Areas of Work

Accidents Abroad and International Travel

Chambers has a team of barristers specialising in international personal injury work, who can claim a proven track record in this specialist field. 

Members act in single-party and multi-party cases. Instructions span the full spectrum of severity, from fast-track to catastrophic. 

The team has acted in a very wide range of claims for individuals – everything from substandard hotel facilities to fatal aircraft crashes.

Chambers has particular expertise in group actions, including outbreaks attributable to food poisoning and Cryptosporidiosis.  Members have also acted in multi-party actions arising from road traffic accidents abroad, for example coach collisions.

Chambers’ expertise in jurisdictional points has been honed by a long history of acting for those injured whilst working at sea, both as divers and on board vessels, and for those injured in foreign docks.

Another specialism is high-value cross-jurisdictional disputes between England and the Southern Hemisphere. Richard Royle, a door tenant in Chambers and leading barrister in New South Wales, is engaged alone or with others from Chambers in various overseas claims, including Australian-based torts heard in the English courts and vice versa.

Rob Weir QC is responsible for the conflict of laws chapter in Kemp & Kemp.

Significant Cases

  • Smith and others v MoD [2011] EWHC 1676 – Claim arising out of death of soldiers in Iraq.   Issue over extent of jurisdiction of Human Rights Act 1998. Rob Weir QC
  • Saldanha v Fulton Inc. (2011) 2 Lloyds Rep 206 – Accident on board ship involving conflict of laws issues. Rob Weir QC
  • F & 275 Others v TUI UK Ltd [2011] – Group action arising out of poor standards of hygiene in a hotel in Bulgaria. Rob Hunter
  • K-V v various [2011] – Claim for a British widow whose husband was killed in an accident on a drilling rig in Singapore with claims against a Guernsey employer and Danish and Singaporian companies. Rob Weir QC
  • X v Y Association [2011] – Tetraplegia to young man following in diving accident in Baltic States.  Liability compromised, quantum ongoing. Stephen Killalea QC and Rob Hunter
  • Colin Mendoza is acting against the MOD for an Airload Master in the RAF who was injured during the course of a training exercises in the USA when the helicopter in which they were travelling crash landed at a disused airfield (ongoing).
  • CS (A Child) and 15 others v Chameleon Worldwide Travel Limited (ongoing) - student coach crash in South Africa involving fatalities and multiple injuries on the eve of the 2010 football world cup. Criminal proceedings against the bus driver brought in South Africa. Tom Vonberg
  • Barltrop & 22 others v. TUI UK LTD [2009] – Coach crash in Bulgaria resulting in multiple injuries for 40 holiday makers. Succeeded at trial on liability. Bruce Silvester
  • Besford & 148 Others v. Thompson (TUI) [2009] – Substantial claim arising out of widespread illness in hotel in Bulgaria after flooding.  Bruce Silvester
  • Cooley v Ramsey [2008] EWHC 129 (QB) – Leading case on whether England was the proper place to bring the proceedings on the grounds that economic loss sustained in England following repatriation after an accident was damage sustained in the jurisdiction. Stephen Killalea QC
  • Grimshaw & 419 Others v. First Choice Holidays [2009] – Substantial group action arising out of a large outbreak of food poisoning in a hotel in the Dominican Republic. Bruce Silvester
  • Gunstone & 119 others v. First Choice [2009] – Large Group Action resulting from Cryptosporidium infections.  Achieved a settlement of £2.5m. Bruce Silvester
  • Harley and others v Smith and others [2009] PIQR P11, (2009) 1 Lloyds Rep 359 – Limitation under Saudi law and Foreign Limitation Periods Act in personal injury claim by commercial divers. Rob Weir QC and Jonathan Butters
  • K v N & MIB – Road Traffic Accident in England causing paraplegia. Following repatriation of the Claimant to Hong Kong, arguments in relation to care and accommodation. Stephen Killalea QC, Richard Royle and Rob Hunter
  • Knight v Axa Assurances [2009] Lloyds Rep IR 667 – Conflict of laws case arising out of road traffic accident abroad involving assessment of whether claim against insurer is claim in contract or in tort. Rob Weir QC
  • My Travel v. David Bulmer & 98 Others [2009] – Multi-party action arising out of a massive outbreak of food poisoning at a Hotel in the Dominican Republic. Bruce Silvester
  • Professor G v XY – Catastrophic Brain Injury Case for Leading Academic.  Accident in Australia.  Settled with New South Wales Insurers. Terms subject to confidentiality agreement. Stephen Killalea QC and Richard Royle
  • Bristow v Sikorsky (2004) 2 Lloyds Rep 150 – Fatal helicopter crash.  Proceedings brought in England.  Subsequent proceedings brought in USA. Rob Weir QC
  • Roerig v Valiant Trawlers Ltd [2002] 1 WLR 2304 – Leading case on substance/procedure divide, followed in Harding v Wealand.  Arising out of fatal accident to Dutch crew member on board vessel in international waters. Rob Weir QC