Profile

Richard is a partner in our Manchester office, qualifying in England and Wales in 1999. He leads our North West personal injury liability team and is a member of our strategic personal injury group.

Richard specialises in work place accidents arising in the transport, leisure and hospitality sectors seeking to ensure that the client’s brand and reputation is protected whilst protecting the profit line of the business.

Richard has been successful in the Court of Appeal on a number of occasions with cases including those of Edwards-Tubb v J D Wetherspoon [2011] which is the leading authority on the issue of "expert shopping" arising from a slipping claim brought against the company and Taylor v Wincanton Group Ltd [2009] and the interpretation of Regulation 12 (3) of the Workplace Regulations and the tripping hazard presented by the threshold into a portakabin.

Qualifications

  • Qualified in England and Wales in 1999
Richard McKeown stands head and shoulders above the rest. Master tactician, extensive industry knowledge and always one step ahead of his opponent.

Market recognition

  • Leading Individual and recommended lawyer for 'Personal injury: defendant (North West)'
    The Legal 500 UK 2024
  • Leading Individual and recommended lawyer for 'Personal injury: defendant (North West)'
    "Richard McKeown stands head and shoulders above the rest. Master tactician, extensive industry knowledge and always one step ahead of his opponent".
    The Legal 500 UK 2023
  • Leading Individual and recommended lawyer for 'Personal injury: defendant (North West)'
    "Richard McKeown is noted for his expertise handing claims in the leisure and hospitality, retail and transport industries."
    The Legal 500 UK 2022
  • Leading Individual and recommended lawyer for 'Personal injury: Defendant (North West)'
    "Richard McKeown has extensive experience handling claims in the leisure and hospitality, retail and transport sector."
    The Legal 500 UK 2021
  • Leading Individual and Recommended Lawyer for 'Personal injury: defendant (North West)'
    The Legal 500 UK 2019/20
  • Leading Individual and Recommended Lawyer for 'Personal injury: defendant (North West)'
    "…‘client-focused, pragmatic’ Richard McKeown."
    The Legal 500 UK 2018/19
  • Leading Individual for 'Personal injury: defendant (North West)'
    "‘great commercial vision" and being "tactically astute"
    The Legal 500 UK 2017

Work highlights

  • Successfully defended a claim against a transport organisation where their vehicle had knocked down an American citizen on a pedestrian crossing. The claim which had a pleaded value of £1.3m, settled for £400,000.
  • Defending a claim where a driver fell from the roof of a lorry sustaining a TBI and multitude of life threatening injuries.
  • Managed a claim against a logistics company for an individual struck by a lorry obtaining a one-third reduction for contributory negligence and a 40% contribution from a Part 20 Defendant. This reduced the client’s damages exposure to cira £300,000, as against a damages reserve of over £1m.
  • Successfully defended a claim brought by a warehouse operative who claimed that he had developed a repetitive injury to his back from the operation of a forklift truck. Claim discontinued and full recovery of costs achieved for insured.
  • Managing a chronic pain claim against a pub operator which occurred when the claimant slipped and fell on ice. There are procedural disputes concerning the value of the claim subject to appeals on both sides and issues of fraud will likely arise.