Medical Negligence Department

Carlos Lopez is a partner and head of the Clinical Negligence Department – a department that undertakes all types of negligence claims against individual medical practitioners and institutions.

Carlos is a specialist senior clinical negligence practitioner, with over 26 years experience in clinical negligence work, who has acted for thousands of clients since qualification in 1995, dealing with a vast array of clinical negligence work, including cases of maximum severity, such as brain injury, spinal injury, oncology misdiagnosis and delayed treatment and birth injury claims.

Carlos is dual qualified as a Barrister and Solicitor and is a member of the Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel, in recognition of his specialist expertise in this area of law. Additionally, Carlos is one of the few practitioners in the North West to hold dual accreditation, also being a member of the Law Society Personal Injury panel.

Due to his experience in the field of medical negligence, Carlos is also an Assessor for the Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel, and is responsible for assessing solicitors who wish to become specialist practitioners.

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Sarah Smith is an Senior Associate Solicitor in our Clinical Negligence Claims Team having joined in November 2021.

Sarah was admitted as a solicitor in 2000 having obtained an LLB in Law and Italian at the University of Cardiff, and attending The College of Law, York.

With more than 21 years’ experience, Sarah takes pride in treating her clients with empathy and compassion at a time of extreme upset and uncertainty. She believes it is essential to build strong working relationships from the outset. She also strives to maximise compensation on behalf of clients and ensures that claims are dealt with efficiently.

Sarah was noted as a recommended lawyer for clinical negligence in the North West in the 2024 Legal 500 rankings.

Away from work, Sarah spends time with her family. She enjoys cooking and keeping fit.

Daniel Hatton is a Senior Litigation Executive in the Clinical Negligence department, Daniel became a Chartered Legal Executive in 2018 and has been handling clinical negligence cases since 2014.

Daniel deals with a wide variety of cases which range in both complexity and value. Daniel has handled cases which have been valued up to £2 million and has also been involved in cases subject to a Group Litigation Order. Daniel has also been involved in the handling of the largescale vaginal mesh claims following the TVT and TVT-O procedures carried out on women in the UK.

Daniel chose a career in clinical negligence as he believes that people deserve compensation when they are let down by those people trust and hold in such high regard. He understands that the claims process can be difficult and confusing. He will make every effort to simplify the process as he is keen to ensure clients are fully involved in their claim.

Hazel has over 20 years experience of handling claims both in the UK and internationally including 13 years at the Medical Protection Society gaining valuable experience of a wide range of clinical negligence claims.  These claims have included: birth related injuries, rare conditions, delayed diagnosis of cancer, cases involving amputations, kidney disease, diabetes, metal-on-metal hip replacements, pain syndromes, mismanagement of medication, cosmetic surgery, dental claims, complex infections, fatal injuries, brain and spinal injuries.

Hazel graduated from Cilex while working full time, gaining vital experience at the same time as qualifying.  She reflects:

“I have spent a lot of time listening to colleagues, learning from them and applying that knowledge to my cases.  I enjoy discussing cases with colleagues as there is always an opportunity to learn as well as get different views on the approach to a case, which is crucial in the success of a claim.    Learning how to consider cases from all angles and how to adopt different strategies has been as important as everything learned during my studies, if not more so”.

While Hazel’s time at the Medical Protection Society was on the Defendant side, she believes this provides a unique insight into how to navigate claims and is extremely excited to bring that knowledge to Claimants and help them to achieve the best outcome possible.

Gareth Walkner is a Clinical Negligence Solicitor here at Express Solicitors. He joined the team in February 2023 after working within the clinical negligence legal industry in the North East, Yorkshire and North West for around 8 years.

Gareth initially studied Law at Nottingham Trent University and then went on to study his LPC at Leeds BPP Law School.

Gareth has always sought to be a Solicitor after studying law for one of his A Levels in his home town. He states the complexity and challenge in law has always fascinated him, and during his Training Contract he felt clinical negligence would be a suitable specialism to take.

Gareth has a mixture of both general clinical negligence experience alongside a specialism in cosmetic surgery negligence.

Gareth notes his goal is to make sure every client feels they are able to speak to him comfortably about their experiences so they feel they are supported every step of the way throughout their case. He notes that investigation and litigation can be very daunting so making sure he is approachable and understanding is a key part of his role.

Gareth now wishes to build his experience with more complex clinical negligence matters here at Express.

Nadia Valentine is a Trainee Solicitor within the Clinical Negligence Department. She graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2021 with a 1st class degree in Law. She remained at Manchester Metropolitan University and completed the Legal Practice Course, graduating again in 2022 with a Distinction. Nadia joined Express Solicitors in November 2021 as a Litigation Assistant. She was promoted to Trainee Solicitor in September 2022.

Nadia is responsible for assisting solicitors within the clinical negligence department on many different cases, most of them high profile. What she loves best about working at Express Solicitors is the many clients she looks after. Nadia’s aim is to help progress each and every file she works on, taking into account each individual client’s circumstances. Nadia loves to talk to her clients and really get to know them. No two days are the same for her which makes the job for Nadia very interesting and engaging. Nadia is part of a fantastic and knowledgeable team who also care equally for their clients.

Nicole James -Julio is a Trainee Solicitor within the Clinical Negligence Department. She has joined the firm in April 2022 as a Litigation Assistant before securing her training contract at Express in September 2022. Nicole graduated with a first-class honours degree from the University of Hertfordshire in 2016 and she is currently studying for her Solicitors Qualifying Exam with an aim to qualify in 2024. Nicole hopes to qualify as a Clinical Negligence Solicitor in the near future.

Nicole assists on a variety of cases, ranging from birth injuries to extravasation injuries. She has particular experience in investigating claims for children who have suffered a brain injury due to negligence.

When asked what she enjoys most about her role at Express Solicitors, Nicole answered: “I chose to specialise in clinical negligence because it is an area of law where I can make a real difference to people’s lives. I have the opportunity to work closely with clients and to support them during a very traumatic time, together we work towards a resolution which can dramatically change our client’s life.”

Outside of work and her studies, Nicole enjoys hiking and attempting new recipes.

Read Nicole’s latest article in Legal Futures here.

Max has worked in the legal industry for almost a decade and has a background in both fast track and multi-track personal injury; including employers liability, public liability and clinical negligence.

Most recently Max was a manager at a small-medium sized law firm in Liverpool specialising in civil litigation; including private nuisance, commercial litigation, housing conditions claims, personal injury and clinical negligence.

Max moved to Express Solicitors to specialise in clinical negligence and gain experience in some higher value and more complex matters from the greatly experienced team here. Max believes his varied background and extensive litigation experience will make him an asset to the team here at Express.

Max graduated from the University of Liverpool with a degree in criminology and sociology in 2011 and is currently studying for the Solicitors. Qualification Exam, hoping to qualify in 2024.

Outside of work Max enjoys fitness, including Muay Thai boxing, strength training and running. Max is a trustee of a Muay Thai boxing gym on the Wirral, which is a registered charity, dedicated to promoting community participation in healthy recreation

James is a Senior Litigation Executive in the Clinical Negligence Department having joined in November 2023. He has worked in the legal industry dealing exclusively with Clinical Negligence cases and multi-track Personal Injury work for some years now and has moved to Express Solicitors to further his career and gain further experience in high value and more complex cases.

James has extensive history dealing with challenging and difficult cases. He has history in dealing with cases relating to relating to delayed diagnosis of cancer, spinal injuries and has experience in working with birth injury cases. He has handled a wide variety of cases with some being valued up to £2.5 million.

James chose a career in clinical negligence as he wanted to work in an area of law that can assist others when they are let down by those that they trusted to help them when they needed it.

Outside of work, James enjoys rock climbing, bike riding and keeping up with current events.

Lauren Taylor is a Litigation Executive in the Clinical Negligence Department at Express Solicitors, who joined in May 2021.

Lauren first became interested in law when she was studying at college. After obtaining a bachelors honours degree in Forensic Science and Criminal Investigation at the University of Central Lancashire, she decided to pursue a career in law.

Lauren’s experience for the past 5 years has been solely in clinical negligence on behalf of claimants. In 2018, Lauren decided to gain professional qualifications alongside working and began studying to become a CILEX Fellow.

Lauren has worked on low value, high value and complex cases including birth, orthopaedic, amputation, GPs, and gynaecology to name a few. However, Lauren have a lot of experience dealing with cases relating to insertion of mesh which has recently been in the media. She is experienced in dealing with both single defendants and multiple defendants and acting on behalf of deceased’s families.

Lauren prides herself on providing good customer care to her clients. She believes it is very important to build a rapport with a client from the outset. Lauren also prides herself on being able to emphasise with clients, understanding it can be a very worrying time and aims to put their mind at rest as much as possible.

Lauren really enjoy working in clinical negligence and could not imagine doing anything else. She loves working hard to get an outcome for a client that they deserve after being through such a difficult time.

A lot of Lauren’s spare time is taken up with studying for her professional qualifications, however when she does get time to herself, she likes going for walks along the canal or in the park with her dog. Lauren enjoys spending time with her friends and family; including watching live music, going out for meals, having a spa day and going on holidays. Lauren also like learning new skills; having previously completed a photography course in her spare time to enhance her skills.

Demi is a young legal professional specialising in high-value and complex disputes. In previous employment, she assisted lead Partners in securing damages awards totaling £240 million with an average settlement amount of £1 million+. Having represented clients with injuries of the upmost severity, she understands it is essential that interim payments are secured, and rehabilitation is initiated at the very beginning of a client’s case to ensure the best chances of recovery.

Demi is dedicated to ensuring that her clients receive the best available advice, support, and guidance from the very outset of their claims. She derives satisfaction from securing the funds her clients need to ensure that they have the best possible quality of life following injury.

She is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) Future Leaders Team and a Neurodiversity in Law Champion, committed to leading the movement toward a more inclusive and diverse legal profession.

“Demi Newlove is incredibly helpful and efficient, not just with me but with the clients too. She has a good understanding of the client’s needs and adjusts her approach to suit their needs.” Chambers Insight Report 2022