Christopher Malla

Christopher is global head of Healthcare. In England, he leads a Band 1 team of clinical negligence lawyers that operate as a national service across five UK offices: Birmingham, Cambridge, London, Newcastle and Sheffield.

A highly regarded defendant solicitor, he defends a wide range of clinical negligence claims on behalf of NHS Resolution, medical malpractice insurers, private hospitals and clinics.

Christopher has specialist expertise in dealing with both liability and quantum on high value fetal medicine, cerebral palsy, obstetric and paediatric claims, and is experienced in representing clients at round table meetings and mediations.

Known for his “tremendous client care” and “extraordinary wealth of knowledge and experience”, he has represented NHS Resolution across a myriad of complex matters, from the indexation  test cases that proceeded to the Court of Appeal, to the reclassification of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings and the impact on Periodical Payment Orders. He is also well versed on multi-jurisdictional issues and the personal injury discount rate  (PIDR) and has successfully secured a higher PIDR in numerous claims where the Claimant was injured in England but now resides abroad.  

With a particular interest in civil justice reform, Christopher has been involved, on Kennedys’ behalf, in numerous government consultations concerning civil justice and clinical negligence. Christopher was a member of the Civil Justice Council’s Working Group on Fixed Recoverable Costs in Clinical Negligence, and was invited to a ministerial briefing on clinical negligence. 

His broad range of skills also see him acting on behalf of manufacturers of medical products and their insurers on product liability claims, including having represented the NHS on the 3M Capital hip implant claims.

Christopher also advises NHS Trusts on a wide range of medical law issues including obtaining emergency declarations, judicial reviews and at inquests. As a strong advocate of learning from hospital deaths, and in particular the coronial process, his focus is to support staff through the process but also to ensure lessons are learnt and improvements are made to increase patient safety.

Passionate about his practice, Christopher regularly provides client training and contributes to Kennedys Healthcare and Personal Injury Briefs. He also writes for various health and insurance publications. In addition, Christopher is a co-author of Kennedys Claims Handling Law and Practice Guide and Catastrophic Personal Injury Guide, as well as the author of the Periodical Payment Guide.