Samantha Williams
Samantha.Williams@kennedyslaw.com
+44 122 353 3076
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Profile
Samantha Williams is a Legal Director in Kennedys’ Cambridge Office. She is an Employed Barrister, having been called to the Bar of England and Wales in July 2003.
Samantha specialises in all aspects of clinical negligence and healthcare. Samantha deals with complex high value claims, including those involving adult and child brain injury, cerebral palsy, amputation, spinal injury, paraplegia and cauda equina syndrome. She deals with multi-defendant actions, working alongside the MDU/MPS, and regularly represents clients at mediations.
Samantha is very experienced in representing Trusts at inquests of all natures (including mental health) and appears in front of Coroners and juries.
She receives direct instruction from Trust clients who ask for her by name. In addition, she is a ‘go-to’ person for Trusts who have ad hoc queries regarding the difficult legal decisions they face in the daily running of the hospital, including issues of capacity, consent, DNR, refusal of treatment, safeguarding in a healthcare setting. She also advises on withdrawal of treatment and Court of Protection Applications.
Samantha has undertaken in-house secondments at the NHS Resolution. She regularly provides training and lectures on topics on inquests, capacity, consent, end of life care etc to Trusts, hospitals, doctors, GPs and CCGs.
Samantha is an author of Kennedys’ Claims Handling Law and Practice Guide, the fourth edition of which was published in February 2021.
Market recognition
- Rising Star and recommended lawyer for 'Personal injury and clinical negligence: defendant (East Anglia)'
The Legal 500 UK 2024 -
Rising Star and recommended lawyer for 'Personal injury and clinical negligence: defendant (East Anglia)'The Legal 500 UK 2023
- Rising Star and recommended lawyer for 'Personal injury and clinical negligence: defendant (East Anglia)'
The Legal 500 UK 2022 - Rising Star and recommended lawyer for 'Clinical negligence: Defendant (East Anglia)'
- The Legal 500 UK 2021
- Rising Star and Recommended Lawyer for 'Clinical negligence (East Anglia)'
The Legal 500 UK 2019/20 - A Recommended Lawyer for 'Medical Malpractice - defendant (East Anglia)'
"… senior associate and employed barrister Samantha Williams and solicitor Debra Sexton are 'standout lawyers'."
The Legal 500 UK 2018/19
Awards
Work highlights
- RC v Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust [2017]. Successfully defended the Defendant Trust at trial at the High Court in a high-value case which involved alleged mismanagement of Cauda Equina Syndrome.
- EP [2017]. Represented a Trust in an application for child safeguarding, where concerns were raised by medical practitioners as to the welfare of the child and possible Fabricated/Induced Illness allegation against the parents. Mediation successfully utilised and Family Division of High Court ordered it was lawful to remove the child from her home to a specialised medical environment.
- LJ v Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2017]. Liability admitted for some injury as a result of delay in management of Cauda Equina Syndrome. Causation for remaining injuries denied. Schedule amounted to £9,300,000. Successfully maintained causation arguments and negotiated settlement at significantly reduced sum of £1,300,000.
- Inquest into the death of RB [2017]. Represented Trust in inquest which involved software failure. Required sensitive management of the relationship with the other Interested Persons (software company) and negotiation of complex medical and technical issues.
- Inquest into the death of MF [2018]. Represented Trust in inquest following death of a baby born at 24 weeks. MRSA on the skin was picked up from swab, which was very difficult to treat due to the extreme fragility of the skin. Baby went on to develop sepsis, which became overwhelming and she sadly died. The Coroner concluded that antibiotics given at an earlier time would have prevented the timing of the death but, in light of the other competing complications, it was unlikely she would have survived.
- Court of Protection matter of Bedford Hospital NHS Trust and Mr B [2018]. Application made to determine the validity of an Advance Decision to refuse treatment made by Mr B, who had motor neurone disease, when he had capacity.
- Margaret Arksey v Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2019]. Successfully defended the Defendant Trust at trial at the High Court of Justice. This high-value brain injury claim related to the management of the Claimant’s cerebral aneurysm.
Healthcare