James Pretsell

James has a meticulous eye for detail and achieves excellent outcomes.

Legal 500

James’ practice specialises in personal injury, clinical negligence and disciplinary & regulatory work. He is consistently recommended as a leading junior in the main legal directories, Chambers UK and Legal 500, which describe him as ‘extremely talented’, as someone who ‘delivers an excellent service’, ‘first rate with clients’, and ‘achieves excellent outcomes’.

James’ personal injury practice focuses primarily on multi-million pound claims in the High Court, where he has appeared successfully in a number of reported and precedent-setting cases. This dovetails with James’ expert knowledge in dealing with clinical negligence claims, where he acts predominantly for defendant NHS Trusts and private healthcare providers. James is experienced in dealing with foreign claims, especially those involving jurisdiction and choice of law, and as a fluent French speaker, is well placed to assist in such cases with a French element.

James’ disciplinary & regulatory work sees him appear regularly in front of a wide variety of professional disciplinary bodies as well as sitting as a member of the RFU Judicial Panel and as a chairman of the Appeals Committee of the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain.

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Personal Injury

James acts on behalf of major insurers defending high value personal injury claims that often involve elements of fraud or fundamental dishonesty.  His caseload consistently involves multi-million pound claims in which the claimants are often represented by silks.

He has particular experience and expertise in the use of evidence obtained by surveillance as well as from social media, mobile phones and other data sources.  He appeared on behalf of the successful Defendant insurer in the leading case of Stewart v Kelly (2016) EWHC 3263 (Blake J) which considers and gives guidance on the problematic issue of when to disclose surveillance evidence.

He also represented the successful Defendant insurer in the High Court trial of Atkinson v Pathak (2015) EWHC 1120 (Robert Owen QC) where the forensic use of surveillance evidence at trial resulted in findings of dishonesty being made against the Claimant.

His current caseload involves the following cases of interest:

  • A claim by a DP World Tour professional golfer in a multi million pound claim for damages arising out of a road traffic accident;
  • A claim valued in excess of £7 million by the former chief executive of a leading automotive parts company who suffered a below knee amputation; and
  • A claim valued in excess of £5 million by a construction worker who suffered a below knee amputation when he was crushed by a digger.

Civil Fraud

James has extensive experience of dealing with fraudulent claims in both the civil and criminal jurisdictions.

He has acted as junior to Patrick Harrington KC in a number of criminal matters involving allegations of fraud of the utmost severity ranging from the attempted bribery of a Local Authority Chief Executive to an alleged conspiracy to avoid the multi-million pound reinstatement of open cast mining sites.

The overwhelming majority of James’ work is though in the civil sphere where he represents Defendant insurers in a wide variety of cases involving allegations of fraud and which has resulted in him being ranked in the Legal 500.

James has particular experience and expertise in the use of surveillance evidence.   He appeared on behalf of the successful Defendant insurer in the High Court case of Stewart v Kelly (2016) EWHC 3263 (Blake J) dealing with the, often difficult, issue of when to disclose surveillance evidence.

James represented the successful Defendant insurer in the High Court trial of Atkinson v Pathak (2015) EWHC 1120 (Robert Owen QC) where the forensic use of surveillance evidence at trial resulted in the Claimant failing to beat an historic Part 36 offer.

James is also vastly experienced in advising on and drafting allegations of fraud and/or fundamental dishonesty whether in Defences or Counter schedules.

Regulatory & Disciplinary

James has extensive and broad experience of advising and appearing in front of a broad range of professional and sporting disciplinary and regulatory bodies.

Recent examples of work include successfully acting for a professional boxing manager before the appeal panel of the British Boxing Board of Control where James enjoyed the rare distinction of cross-examining Frank Warren (Harding v Warren), and advising a rugby club on the prospects of successfully challenging a refusal by the WRU to allow promotion.

James is a member of the judicial panel of the RFU and sits on cases involving the full range of misconduct both on and off field. Most recently, James sat on the panel that imposed sanctions on a club for financial irregularities in payments to players (RFU v Blackburn RFC).

James acts on behalf of solicitors, accountants, medical professionals and teachers and appears before a wide variety of disciplinary panels such as those of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the General Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Care Quality Commission, the National College for Training and Leadership and the General Regulatory Chamber. He has presented cases on behalf of the Nursing and Midwifery Council relating to serious disciplinary matters involving healthcare professionals, and is currently acting on behalf of a firm of accountants facing serious charges of misconduct relating to an audit investigation.

James also sits as Chairman of the Appeals Tribunal of the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain, adjudicating on disputes that are often of a commercial and technical nature.

James is a member of the Association of Disciplinary and Regulatory Lawyers and of the British Association for Sport and Law.

Travel & International Law

James has a wealth of experience in litigation involving travel and cross-jurisdictional issues.

In particular his fluency in French and extensive expertise in personal injury litigation has led to his instruction in a variety of claims where an understanding and interpretation of French law and evidence in a foreign language has been invaluable.

For example, James has acted for defendants in a number of claims arising out of serious road traffic collisions in France.  He has advised on French legislative provisions relating to the equivalent of social security benefits and their recoupment in the context of high value personal injury litigation in the High Court.

He has also acted in cases arising out road traffic collisions in Italy and Spain where complex issues relating to damage in the context of cross-jurisdictional litigation concerning brain injury have arisen.

James has also acted for a number of major airlines in cases involving delay and damage involving the interpretation and application of the Montreal and Warsaw Conventions and Hague Protocol.

Clinical Negligence

James’s expertise in clinical negligence has been built on his extensive personal injury practice which frequently involves consideration of complex clinical issues and his considerable experience in professional negligence, disciplinary and regulatory matters.

In the past year James has acted and advised in matters involving the following wide ranging and complex issues of clinical judgment and expertise:

  • The misdiagnosis and consequent potentially negligent treatment of a minor for PTSD following a serious road traffic collision;
  • The (mis)interpretation of an advanced brain scan;
  • The infection of a wound in surgery leading to a substantial risk of lower limb amputation; and
  • Whether colorectal surgery had been performed negligently.

The potential quantum in all of the above cases was in excess of £1 million.

As well as over twenty years’ experience of dealing with complex clinical issues, James brings an in depth understanding of the standards to which the clinical professions are held in practice by virtue of his work representing parties before the relevant tribunals of the General Medical Council and Nursing and Midwifery Council.

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Notable Cases


Atkinson v Pathak (2015) EWHC 1120
James was instructed by the Defendant insurer to defend a claim involving a Claimant who had been working as a self-employed gardener when in December 2009 the First Defendant -insured by the Second Defendant- had negligently run over his left foot when mounting the pavement in the course of doing a U-turn. The Claimant sought a total award of damages in excess of £600,000.

Szura v Dixey
Represented a Claimant injured in an rta who alleged that she sustained a moderate brain injury. This was hotly disputed by the experts (Neurologists, Psychiatrists and Neuro-Psychologists) and was heard over a five day High Court trial before HH Judge Forster QC sitting as a High Court Judge. The issue was determined in the Claimant's favour and quantum was settled. The case was one of the first in the High Court (indeed in any court) to involve experts giving evidence concurrently ('hot tubbing').

Cass DA v (1) C & C Plumbing & Heating (Southern) Ltd (2) C & C Carpentry Services Ltd (3) Bellway Homes Ltd
Successfully represented a Defendant in a claim arising out of a fall through a roof on a construction site that was heard over a number of days before HH Judge Moloney QC. The claim involved complicated questions of engineering evidence relating to the building methods and materials used.

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Thompson F v Asphaltic Roofing Supplies Ltd
Successfully represented a Defendant in a claim where it was alleged that a hydraulic arm had malfunctioned and injured the Claimant. The matter was heard before HHJ Hand QC and involved lengthy and technical expert engineering evidence.

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If you would like to instruct James Pretsell or would like help or advice in doing so, please call and talk to our excellent clerking team, led by Chief Executive/Director of Clerking, Paul Cray. Our phone number is +44 (0)20 7583 9241. Alternatively, please email us at chambers@farrarsbuilding.co.uk

For more information about our clerking team, please click here for the clerks page.

Appointments & Memberships


  • RFU Judicial Panel Member
  • Chairman of the Appeals Tribunal of the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain
  • Personal Injury Bar Association
  • Association of Regulatory & Disciplinary Lawyers
  • British Association for Sport & Law
  • Accredited Advocacy Trainer (Gray’s Inn)
  • Sport Resolutions Pro Bono Service

Education & Qualifications


  • Karmel Scholar & Prince of Wales Scholar, Gray’s Inn
  • BVC (with Distinction in Advocacy), Inns of Court School of Law
  • Dip Law (Commendation), City University
  • BA in French & Philosophy (First Class), University of Bristol

Directory Quotes


James is ranked as a Leading Junior in the Legal 500 for Personal Injury:

He has a wonderfully relaxed manner with clients which makes him very reassuring.’ Legal 500

‘James has a meticulous eye for detail and achieves excellent outcomes.’ Legal 500

 

Personal Interests


James interests include playing for and now supporting London Welsh, cycling, skiing and cricket.