Richmond lawyer Matthew Tuff has taken on a top role with a national not-for-profit organisation which campaigns for the rights of injured victims of negligence.
Matthew, who is legal director at Moore Barlow Lawyers in Richmond and specialises in representing people who have suffered life changing injuries, has been elected to the voluntary role as a vice president of APIL (the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers).
“APIL is dedicated to helping people who have been injured, made ill, or have lost a loved one due to others’ negligence, as I am,” said Matthew.
Matthew, who qualified as a solicitor in 1999 and has worked in the area of catastrophic personal injury ever since, is backing APIL’s Rebuilding Shattered Lives campaign, which gives injured people a voice by telling their real-life stories.
“We’re dedicated to helping injured people get their lives back on track and recover as best they can after being injured through no fault of their own. Rebuilding Shattered Lives explains in raw detail just how difficult that path can be and the many obstacles people injured through no fault of their own have to face,” he said.
“One of the key things is securing rehabilitation early to help people recover more quickly, which leads to better outcomes when people suffer devastating injuries due to negligence. The very least they should expect is the best treatment possible to help them get their lives back on track,” Matthew said.
“I’m keen to lend my support to APIL’s campaign for the law on statutory bereavement compensation to be updated so it reflects how families live today. The current law was passed more than 40 years ago. It means family members, like fathers not married or in a civil partnership with the mother when their child was born, are not recognised if the worst were to happen and their child dies due to negligence.
“The next Government must acknowledge how people live their lives today, and that most babies in England and Wales are born to parents who are not married or in a civil partnership,” he went on.
“Scotland has a modern law which recognises the closeness between many different family members. England and Wales need to follow suit,” he said.
Matthew, who enjoys cycling, jogging and kayaking, has worked as a volunteer trustee of brain injury charity Headway South West London in the past. He is also member of Toastmasters International, the not-for-profit organisation that promotes public speaking and leadership skills.
He is one of APIL’s two newly elected vice presidents, the other being Guy Forster, of Irwin Mitchell.