Simon Cradick

Career

Simon has a national reputation in the field of occupational disease, and in particular asbestos claims. In addition to insurer instructions, he regularly receives referrals for companies large and small who are the subject of uninsured claims.

In 2020, together with David Platt KC, Simon ran the landmark case of Bannister v Freemans Plc, which involved the principle of a de minimis defence in mesothelioma claims. The claim was won at first instance and permission to appeal was refused by the CoA.

In addition to occupational disease expertise, Simon has over 35 years’ experience of handling large loss and catastrophic injury claims primarily for insurers. He also regularly advises on policy indemnity issues.

Current claims include:

• A paraplegia claim (estimated value over £5m) where the insurer has refused indemnity because of a breach of the duty of fair presentation of risk by the policyholder. This could well be a test case under the Insurance Act 2015 and the applicability of averaging in an EL claim

• A claim by a 19 year old who has a below knee amputation of the left leg and loss of half his right foot

• A catastrophic head injury claim where the Claimant remains in hospital with no immediate sign of discharge following an accident on 05.03.21, which may well exceed the policy limit of £10m

• A head injury claim where the Claimant allegedly remains incapable of work 2.5 years post accident

• A PL claim by a 19 year old who fell through edge protection, which has been settled with a Co-Defendant at £5m against a claim for £9m. We are now exploring a contribution claim against the NHS in clinical negligence involving complex issues of breach and causation

Simon was for many years the Secretary of the Welsh Personal Injury Lawyers Assoc., and he is a past President of the Cardiff & District Law Society.