Catherine Canham

Catherine qualified in 2006 and works in the serious and catastrophic injury team defending large loss and catastrophic injury claims across the UK.  She trained and worked in the South East for many years but is currently based in our Taunton office and is recognised as a key lawyer in the 2023 Legal 500 for personal injury defendant (South West).   

Catherine has over 25 years’ experience in civil litigation and complex and catastrophic claims, acting for a range of insurers, Local Authorities and self-insured’s in employers, public (including Highways Act 1980) and product liability, occupational disease and road traffic claims involving severe orthopaedic injuries, chronic pain, neurological conditions, psychiatric damage, paraplegia, brain injuries, and fatal injury claims.  Her occupational disease experience includes asbestos related disease including mesothelioma and lung cancer, HAVs and noise induced hearing loss.  She enjoys the complexities of cases involving allegations of fraud or exaggeration.

Catherine also has experience of Animals Act claims involving life changing injuries from dog bites and strikes and was instructed by the First to Third Defendants in Menzies v Doggie Holiday Homes and others (2021), which was successfully dismissed at trial.

Catherine has previously worked for both Claimants and Defendants and has broad experience of complex general litigation including misrepresentation, breach of contract, property disputes, libel claims, enforcement actions, and contentious probate.   She has also been involved in test cases and appeal cases including Goodwill v BPAS CA 19 Jan 1996, Clark v Ardington and associated cases, and more recently the successful High Court appeal in Apres Lounge v Wade [2023] EWHC 190 (KB) involving the standard imposed for system of inspections under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957.