Stephen Archer

Call: 1979

Expertise

Personal Injury

Practice Profile

Stephen has practiced almost exclusively in personal injury work since 1985. He is listed a leading junior in both the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners recently being described as having an “attention to detail and excellence in cross-examination” that wins him many supporters.  He acts principally for Defendants and is routinely instructed by all the major insurers in cases involving catastrophic injuries and deals with spinal injury and brain damage claims on regular basis. He is particularly valued by insurers for his meticulous approach to the preparation of counter schedules. He is often instructed to attend mediations in substantial damages only claims.
Stephen has a particular interest in industrial disease litigation and occupational stress claims. 

 

Personal Injury

He has a particular interest in industrial disease litigation in the following areas:  

• Occupational stress:     He was junior counsel in Sutherland v Hatton [2002] P.I.Q.R. P21. A substantial proportion of his practice now covers claims for bullying, harassment and occupational stress. 
   

• Repetitive strain injury:    He was junior counsel in Mountenay v Bernard Matthews Plc [1994] Med LR 293 and, following this, appeared in a large number of repetitive strain injury claims as this litigation flourished in the 1990’s. 
    

• Industrial lung disease:    He was junior counsel in Abbott v Rockware Glass (1999, C.A), a substantial test action involving rhinitis amongst a group of glassworkers.  The successful conclusion of this litigation led to instructions in a broad range of claims involving industrial lung disease including injury from exposure to fumes of styrene (a component of the manufacture of fibreglass) and a claim of fibrosing alveolitis from exposure to petrol vapour.
   
• Vibration white finger:    He was instructed in the test action of Abbott v Vi-Spring (vibration white finger suffered by workers in a bed factory).  

 

• Radio emissions:    He was junior counsel in Davies and Docherty v Balfour Kilpatrick (2002) CA. and acquired a detailed technical understanding of the physics underpinning this area, which derives principally from research into mobile phones.

 

• Asbestos:    His practice has always involved a significant proportion of claims deriving from exposure to asbestos.

Notable Cases

Cases of particular importance include

Mountenay v Bernard Matthews Plc [1994] 5 Med. L.R. 293 - Employers duty of care in context of RSI;

Abbot v Rockware Glass Plc (1999) (CA) - Test cases involving rhinitis amongst glassworkers;

Makepeace v Evans Brothers [2000] B.L.R. 287 (CA) - Duty of care of main contractor to employee of subcontractor;

Hatton v Sutherland [2002] 2 All ER 1 - Stress at work;

Vahidi v Fairstead House School Trust Ltd [2005] P.I.Q.R. P112 and in the Court of Appeal [2005] EWCA Civ 765 - Stress at work.

Additional Information

Affiliations

• Personal Injuries Bar Association