42BR Barristers shortlisted for 6 awards at The Legal 500 Bar Awards 2024
42BR Barristers is delighted to share that we have been shortlisted for 6 awards, across three practice areas, at The Legal 500 Bar Awards 2024.
Published: 9th Jul 2024
Richard Furniss has more than 20 years’ experience of clinical negligence, personal injury, and solicitors’ and other professional negligence. He is an expert in medico-legal work, has appeared in innumerable inquests, and has wide experience of judicial review and Court of Protection matters, especially where they concern medical issues.
He has always acted for both claimants and defendants in all areas of his work.
He is straightforward and firm, but personable and sympathetic with lay and professional clients. He brings an imaginative approach to cases, but is sensible and realistic when advising.
Richard was educated at Downing College, Cambridge, and called to the Bar in 1991.
Clinical Negligence Law
Richard is a well-known specialist in medical law, and has vast experience of all aspects of clinical negligence and personal injury work.
He acts both for claimants and for defendants.
His clinical negligence cases have encompassed almost all aspects of that area of work. He is regularly instructed in cerebral palsy and other catastrophic cases, and has been sole or junior counsel in very many cases worth in excess of £1 million.
Court of Protection
Richard’s Court of Protection work is largely but not exclusively ancillary to his main specialism in medical law.
For example, he acts for NHS Trusts, individuals and the Official Solicitor in cases where the court is asked to determine what medical treatment is in the best interests of a patient who lacks capacity to give or withhold consent.
He also has experience of deprivation of liberty cases, especially where there is a dispute over medical issues, often concerning elderly people who are said to have lost capacity due to age-related dementia, but also those who are being held securely in hospital.
Inquests
Richard has enormous experience of all types of inquest and coronial law.
He has acted in nearly a hundred Article 2 inquests, especially those concerning deaths in prison, including the inquests into the deaths of Gareth Myatt, Michael Bailey, Wayne Reid and Aleksey Baranovsky.
He has also acted in innumerable inquests arising from deaths in hospital and concerning the adequacy of medical care. He represents both the families of the deceased and doctors/NHS Trusts. He acted for London Air Ambulance (Bart’s Health NHS Trust) in the inquests for the victims of the London 7/7/05 bombings.
Richard is especially well known for his ability to tackle complex medical issues (and has particular experience of positional asphyxia cases).
Recent Cases:
Inquest into the death of Police Sergeant Matt Ratana (2023) - Richard Furniss led Max Montgomery as Counsel to the Inquest. The Inquest, held over three weeks in November 2024, touched the death of Police Sergeant Matt Ratana, who was murdered in Croydon Custody Centre on 25 September 2020 by Louis De Zoysa. Mr De Zoysa had been arrested for possession of cannabis with intent to supply and possession of ammunition following a stop and search by a Metropolitan Police Constable. A loaded revolver in a holster on his person was not discovered during the search and was used in custody by De Zoysa to shoot and kill Sergeant Ratana. The Senior Coroner found there was "failure to carry out a safe, thorough and systematic search". De Zoysa had been convicted of murder so the conclusion was inevitably that of ‘Unlawful Killing’.
The Inquest has been widely reported in the press:
Judicial Review
As a specialist in medical law, Richard has experience of various aspects of judicial review, but is particularly well-known for cases which involve medical issues. Frequently, these arise in the setting of a prison or other secure establishment.
Related accreditations
“Clients appreciate his ability to provide… straightforward advice given in a manner which is readily understandable by those without either legal or medical training.”
Personal Injury Law
Richard has well over 20 years’ experience of personal injury, and has done every type of personal injury case.
Latterly, he has generally concentrated on brain and spinal injury, amputation, and fatal claims, whether sustained at work or in a road traffic accident or otherwise.
He also has enormous experience of injury caused by stress at work, and of pain and fatigue syndromes.
He has acted on many cases where injury has been sustained as a result of deliberate assault, when aggravated and/or exemplary damages might be in issue.
On the quantum side, Richard has particularly wide-ranging experience and expertise in the assessment of future loss of earnings, especially where the issue is the loss of a chance.
Professional Negligence
Richard is a specialist in medical law, and clinical negligence in particular. He also has considerable experience of other professional negligence, including solicitors, accountants, financial advisers, insurance brokers, architects, surveyors, veterinary surgeons (with particular experience of equine matters), and estate agents.
His solicitors’ negligence work often (but by no means exclusively) concerns failed clinical negligence and personal injury cases.
He acted for the successful claimant in Knatchbull v John D Wood, establishing estate agents’ duty of care to a vendor when marketing a property.
Animal Welfare Law
Richard Furniss has substantial experience in professional negligence including veterinary negligence and in Animals Act cases. He is able to undertake judicial review and regulatory work.
Selected Cases
- T v Foster and others – RTA causing brain damage to a 16-year-old – settled for £3.75 million after discount for contributory negligence.
- Gunn v Essex Strategic HA – Community midwife negligently failed to diagnose meningitis in new-born baby – child survived with brain damage – damages £1.7 million.
- M v King’s College Hospital – Wrongful birth after hospital failed to discover genetic abnormality – child born with lobar holoprosencephaly – liability admitted shortly before trial – quantum ongoing.
- O v Queen Mary’s Sidcup NHS Trust – Cerebral palsy as a result of perinatal hypoxia – liability admitted during proceedings -quantum ongoing.
Related News
Protecting Wildlife through the Rule of Law
View the recording here.
Published: 25th Mar 2024
The Inquest into the death of Police Sergeant Matt Ratana
Richard Furniss led Max Montgomery as Counsel to the Inquest into the death of Police Sergeant Matt Ratana.
Published: 12th Dec 2023
Animals in Law Webinar
We will be hosting a virtual round table discussion where a group of five practitioners, specialising in different areas of law, will discuss the status of a pet or companion animal in law.
Published: 26th Sep 2022
New Practice Area - Animal Welfare
We are delighted to announce the formation of our new practice area, Animal Welfare.
Published: 6th Jul 2022
Ranked in Chambers & Partners 2019
Chambers are thrilled to have 17 individual recommendations/rankings in the new Chambers & Partners 2019.
Published: 8th Nov 2018
Tina Cook QC and Richard Furniss have been appointed Joint Heads of Chambers as of 29 February 2016
We are delighted to announce that Tina Cook QC and Richard Furniss have been appointed Joint Heads of Chambers as of 29 February 2016. We would like to record our thanks to Frank Feehan QC for his many years of support as Head of Chambers as he steps down to focus on is practice within Chambers.
Published: 15th Mar 2016
