David Knifton, Barrister

David handles a wide range of personal injury work, almost entirely comprising claims with a value in excess of £100,000. On behalf of claimants, he handles catastrophic brain and spinal injuries, claims involving the loss of a limb, serious psychiatric injuries, fatal accidents and claims resulting from abuse in care. In the last three years, he has helped to recover damages of almost £34m on behalf of his claimant clients. His largest claim to date, acting without a QC, is a criminal injuries compensation case for catastrophic brain injury, in which he secured an award of £5.85m. His expertise in understanding and presenting complex, high-value claims has recently been demonstrated in his drafting of the Schedule of Loss in a catastrophic brain injury claim in the Isle of Man, in which he adopted principles from Helmot v Simon regarding multipliers for future loss, thereby increasing the potential value of the claim from £7m to over £18m. His work for defendants includes serious injury and fatal accident claims, industrial disease and fraudulent claims. Examples of some of his instructions may be found on the Recent Cases pages.

Recently described as "simply excellent" and as “inspirational to work with”, solicitors consistently praise his thorough preparation, approachable and accommodating nature, clear and well-reasoned advice, excellent advocacy and negotiation skills, and great empathy with lay clients, whom he involves in every part of the litigation process. Please read the Testimonials pages for further details.

David’s strengths include excellent up to the minute knowledge of the law and current legal issues in PI litigation, in which he regularly provides training and updates to clients. To view or download handouts from some of his recent seminars, please go to the Seminars page.

David is a member of the Personal Injuries Bar Association, the Professional Negligence Bar Association and the Northern Circuit Medical Law Association. If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact Roy Finney, the Practice Manager at Exchange Chambers, Personal Injury Chambers of the Year 2011.