Chris Barnes KC successfully recovers the significant costs of a commercial surrogacy

July 5, 2023

Chris Barnes KC from Exchange Chambers, instructed by Richard Malloy of GAD Solicitors, has recovered £2,750,000 for a claimant left with significant internal injuries following a series of inappropriate surgical interventions.

Of particular interest to clinical negligence specialists were the surrogacy costs incurred and claimed. As a result of the injuries the claimant was unable to bear children and the costs of commercial surrogacy within California were claimed. While those costs have been recoverable in principle since the decision of the Supreme Court in Whittington, guidance as to the actual level of costs is few and far between. In the instant case interim payments were obtained and used to fund a successful surrogacy in California. The actual costs totalled just over £299,000. That figure was claimed as a head of past loss and used to guide the claim for future costs. Of particular note were the variety of attendant costs arising out of the commercial surrogacy, many of which had not been originally anticipated. The case perhaps highlights the need to look to the practical reality of costs charged “on the ground” rather than relying overly on expert evidence.