Brian Griffiths | Manchester, Leeds & Birmingham

Occupational Disease

Brian acts on behalf of Claimants and Defendant in areas of: asbestos and other respiratory conditions, industrial deafness and HAVS. Brian was previously a Senior Policy Advisor, advising the DTI in the British Coal COPD litigation. Since 2002 he acted as standing counsel for one of the major coal mining unions. This involved the two British Coal Schemes of Miners' Respiratory Disease and Vibration White Finger (respectively the largest and second largest group litigation schemes in the world).

Significant Reported Cases

AB and Others v Department of Trade and Industry  [2005] EWCA Civ 1737

Appeal before the Master of the Rolls concerning the quantification of part of the costs in the British Coal Respiratory Disease Litigation. The DTI sought to appeal what they perceived as an over assessment of costs in the region of £370 million.

AB and others v British Coal Corporation

Within the main litigation of the Respiratory Disease litigation, instructed by a coal mining trade union and two individual firms of solicitors, to bring two applications for Declaratory Judgments against the DTI, as regards the level of costs payable to the trade union and its panel of solicitors.

Employer's Liability and Public Liability

Brian acts for both Claimants and Defendants. On the Defendant side, he is standing counsel for a top four supermarket, covering incidents involving staff and customers at its 569 stores and warehouse operations. Over the years cases have ranged from customers slipping grapes to staff claiming after being held hostage at gunpoint. Brian has a wealth of experience in defending various church organisations in accidents on their premises.  Brian is part of the Pain Syndromes team.

Significant Reported Cases

Kerr v William Morrison Supermarket PLC and another [2010] EWCA Civ 271

Road Traffic

Brian is instructed regularly in road traffic cases and these form a major part of his personal injury practice.  These include instructions for both Claimant and Defendant and, including cases of catastrophic injury.   Within such road traffic cases, he has a specialisation with cases involving motorcyclists. A keen motorcyclist himself, it assists him in not only gaining the confidence of the client, but also in issues of liability and quantum. He also specialises in Low Velocity Impact cases.  

Significant Reported Cases

Howe v Houlton and Others [2009] EWHC 3344 (QB)

Led by Michael Rawlinson QC on the liability aspect of a catastrophic running down case of a pedestrian by an articulated lorry.

Military injuries

With a previous military background, he has an interest in cases involving military personnel and has been involved in Employer's Liability cases involving the military, including a case of a serviceman in Northern Ireland who was blown off a helicopter- landing pad by downwash.