Helen Wolstenholme

Call: 2002

Expertise

Employment
Personal Injury
Clinical Negligence
Professional Negligence

Appointments

Junior Counsel to the Crown (C Panel).

Practice Profile

Helen joined Chambers in 2004, following completion of her pupillage. She has a busy and successful practice, which focuses on employment law and personal injury.

 

Employment

Helen acts for both employers and employees in all areas of employment law including unfair and wrongful dismissal; discrimination of all types; whistleblowing; breach of contract and restrictive covenants. She acts for a broad range of clients from large corporate institutions, small businesses, local authorities and NHS Trusts, as well as for individual claimants. Helen is an experienced and highly regarded advocate: she regularly appears at internal hearings and mediations, as well as in the High Court, the Employment Appeal Tribunal and multi-day Tribunal hearings. In addition Helen has a broad paper-based practice involving drafting and advisory work.

Recent cases include:

• Defending a well-known budget airline at trial against a claim for unfair dismissal (redundancy) and sex discrimination.
• Sunley v HMP Durham (2009) EAT: review of strike out decision.
• Representing a City trader at a Judicial Mediation arising out of a substantial claim for race discrimination and unfair dismissal.
• Advising in relation to the employment status of an actress in a long-running television soap opera. The claim settled pre-trial.
• Defending a large comprehensive school against claims by a former teacher of unfair dismissal and race discrimination following his dismissal for repeatedly accusing children of poor behaviour on the grounds of his own race.

 

Helen is a frequent speaker at internal and external seminars, with recent topics including disability discrimination, constructive dismissal and employment status. She has also published articles in the New Law Journal and the Solicitors Journal. 

 

Personal Injury

Helen has a broad personal injury practice covering employer’s liability (including industrial disease and psychiatric injury); occupier’s liability and defective premises; holiday claims (as well as accidents abroad generally); Animals Act cases; road traffic accidents; Fatal Accidents Act claims brought on the part of dependants; and product liability / Sale of Goods Act claims. She acts for claimants and defendants (approximately on a 50/50 basis) in the County Court and High Court and has experience of inquests, mediations and specialist tribunals such as the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. She has a particular interest in cases involving psychiatric injury.

Recent cases include:

• Junior counsel (led by Benjamin Browne QC) representing the defendant employer in a multi-million pound claim for damages arising out of an accident at work which caused substantial spinal injuries.
• Successfully defending a local authority at trial against an OLA 1957 claim brought by a person seriously injured while walking his dog in a park.
• Representing the defendant driver in a claim arising out of a low velocity impact road traffic accident, in which it was alleged (and found at trial) that the accident was "staged".
• Representing the claimant care assistant in a claim for damages arising out of physical and psychiatric injuries sustained as a result of boiling water being poured over her by a patient in her care.

 

Clinical Negligence

Helen’s interest in Clinical Negligence stems from her time as a pupil of Sarah Vaughan Jones QC in 2003. Helen has since developed a growing practice in Clinical Negligence, acting for claimants and defendants alike. Recent examples of her work include:

• Junior Counsel (led by Martin Porter QC) acting for the defendant NHS Trust in a case brought by a claimant barrister in respect of causation of a diffuse brain injury following treatment of a splenic injury.
• Counsel for the Claimant in a claim arising out of a failure to diagnose and treat a shoulder injury following a hypoglycaemic fit, resulting in delay in treatment and a consequentially poor prognosis.
• Advising the Ministry of Defence in relation to a clinical negligence claim brought in respect of psychiatric care given at a military hospital.  

 

Professional Negligence

Helen has experience of claims involving solicitors, building professionals, financial advisors and insurance professionals. She has a particular interest in claims arising out of the sale and purchase pf property, in relation to which she has acted for and against solicitors and acted for financial advisors. She has given in-house talks and spent time working closely with solicitors practicing in this field. Helen is a former-editor of and regular contributor to, 2tg’s professional negligence journal, On Duty.

Additional Information

Previous Positions

• Intern (March-May 2003) Trinity Chambers, Trinidad: worked on human rights cases and appeals to the Privy Council against the death penalty. 
• Assistant to Kenneth Rokison QC, international commercial arbitrator.

 

Awards

• Hardwicke Scholar, Lincoln’s Inn.
• European Commission Human Rights Scholar.

 

Affiliations

• Employment Law Bar Association (ELBA)
• Industrial Law Society (ILS)
• Employment Lawyers Association (ELA)
• Personal Injury Bar Association (PIBA)
• Professional Negligence Bar Association (PNBA) 

 

Languages

• Spanish