Practice Overview
Chris Richards was called to the Bar in 2016. He became a tenant of Exchange Chambers in September 2017 following the successful completion of his common law pupillage with Chambers.
Chris is a specialist personal injury practitioner.
Chris has a strong multi-track practice and an established fast-track practice. Chris accepts instructions across all areas of personal injury work, including road traffic accident claims, occupier’s liability claims, public liability claims, and industrial disease. Chris regularly acts in cases of significant value, often representing Claimants who have suffered lifelong injury and compromise at work. Chris has appeared in the County Court and High Court and has extensive appellate experience.
Chris was successfully appointed in 2023 to the prestigious Attorney General’s Regional C Panel.
Recent multi-track instructions include the following (updated in August 2024):
- An ongoing case involving a traumatic amputation of a limb, with a very significant complexity and value;
- An ongoing case involving disabling physical and psychological injuries, with an almost complete loss of ability to work.
- Several post-inquest civil claims of considerable value, involving claims for dependency and Human Rights damages.
Chris believes strongly that people who have been injured should have access to effective representation. For more information about Chris’s experience in representing Claimants, please see the ‘Personal Injury’ tab.
Chris frequently assists with defending claims brought against insurers and local authorities. For more information about Chris’s experience in representing Defendants, please see the ‘Personal Injury: Defence’ tab.
Chris is incredibly client-focused and approachable and understands the importance of a strong relationship with his clients and instructing solicitors.
Recent cases
August 2024: Chris successfully represented a doctor who suffered unpleasant injuries after a van reversed into her. After a one-day trial in Hull County Court, the Judge agreed that the van driver had been at fault and awarded the Claimant over £26,000 for her damages and costs.
June 2024: Chris attended Durham and Darlington Coroner’s Court to represent an Interested Party in an inquest relating to the death of a recently released prisoner.
May 2024: Chris successfully represented the Ministry of Justice in a high-profile trial concerning an accident in a prison. Chris carefully cross-examined the Claimant’s medical expert and critically undermined their evidence. Chris also proved that the Claimant had brought a dishonest claim. The judgment can be accessed here: https://www.civillitigationbrief.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/FINAL-JUDGMENT.pdf.
April 2024: Chris was instructed to represent a man who had suffered a serious respiratory condition after many years working in a foundry. Chris had been due to represent the Claimant during a two-day limitation trial in Hull County Court. However, after Chris prepared a detailed skeleton argument highlighting the strengths of the Claimant’s case, the Defendant settled and agreed to pay costs.
