About Jennifer Hawkes
Jennifer is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and has Senior Litigator status with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL). She specialises in clinical negligence and personal injury cases and represents families at Inquests.
Jennifer’s medical negligence claims have involved a wide variety of issues, some examples include:
- Obstetric and birthing injuries
- Stillbirth and neonatal deaths
- Gynaecological injuries
- Fatal accidents
- Delays in diagnosis of cancer (including breast, ovarian and bowel cancer)
- Negligent surgical treatment including hernia, bowel and a variety of orthopaedic surgeries
- Negligent nursing treatment leading to pressure sores
- Negligent plastic surgery including breast reconstruction
- Psychiatric injury and secondary victim claims
- Chronic pain
Client stories and notable cases
Mrs L v Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust
The claimant suffered severe psychiatric injury after a failure by the trust’s anaesthetist to follow infection control procedures; the anaesthetist failed to change his gloves after a procedure on another patient. Liability was admitted. The claimant had to undergo tests to rule out HIV and was unable to return to her job as a business development manager.
Damages recovered: £487,000
Miss N v East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (issued in the High Court)
A claim arising out of negligent elbow surgery leading to chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS).
Damages recovered: £125,000
Mrs O (on behalf of Mr O deceased) v East Kent University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (issued in the High Court)
A claim on behalf of a widow whose 77 year old husband died after being misdiagnosed with rectal cancer. Jennifer represented the family at the Inquest where the Coroner concluded that further deeper biopsies could have revealed that a rectal mass was not cancerous. The deceased underwent chemo-radiotherapy and surgery and died.
Damages recovered £65,000
Mr H (on behalf of Mrs H deceased) v Medway NHS Foundation Trust
The deceased was diagnosed with a recurrence of bowel cancer and underwent complicated bowel resection surgery. She died in the days after surgery due to vomiting which caused aspiration and cardiac arrest. Jennifer represented the husband of the deceased at the 2 day Inquest which concluded that the deceased had suffered abdominal sepsis and that a failure to keep her nil by mouth (and in fact to allow her to intake some 2.5 litres of fluid on the day she died) had led to the aspiration. Expert evidence obtained after the Inquest concluded that the deceased would have had a very limited life expectancy in any event.
Damages recovered £30,000
Mrs T v Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust (issued)
This claim involved a delay in carrying out caesarean section leading to a breech delivery. Mother was told that her baby had died and was asked to give her permission to stop resuscitation attempts. The baby was then noted to be breathing and was taken for cooling. The mother suffered PTSD.
Damages recovered: £27,000
Mrs I v NHS Commissioning Board (issued)
The claimant underwent surgery to repair an epigastric hernia. The surgeon also advised that he could perform surgery to reduce lax abdominal skin which was described as a “therapeutic abdominoplasty”. The surgeon failed to repair the hernia and left the claimant with permanent abdominal scarring.
Damages recovered: £22,500
Mr Y v Countrywide Estates Limited
The claimant suffered an Achilles tendon injury as well as psychiatric injury as a result of the failure of the defendant to replace a tree in a metal grid outside his home.
Damages recovered: £89,000
Mr P v Prospect Commercial Limited
The claimant suffered a spinal fracture as a result of a road traffic accident. He spent a number of months in a back brace but made a good recovery. He had some ongoing back pain which affected his job as a refuse collector.
Damages recovered: £59,000
Profile
Jennifer qualified as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives in 2011, having gained valuable experience in personal injury and clinical negligence work since 2005. She is married with two children, enjoys distance running and is a keen cook.