Ceri-Ann Taylor LLB (Hons)

Associate

Professional Qualifications:

Honours degree in Law – Glamorgan University
Legal Practice Course – Cardiff University
Qualified as a solicitor in 2003
Regulated Principal – Solicitors Regulation Authority

Experience:

Ceri has experience in various areas of civil litigation including professional negligence, clinical negligence and general litigation. She joined Harris Fowler in 2003 where she has specialised in personal injury.

Ceri has successfully pursued cases for clients injured in road traffic accidents, accidents at work, accidents on private and public premises and client’s injured by defective products. Ceri also conducts claims against the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority for client’s who have been victims of criminal activity, and claims under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme where members of the armed forces have been injured during service.

She has a particular interest in pursuing compensation claims where a client has suffered psychological or psychiatric injury.

Some of Ceri’s cases:

Road Traffic Accident cases:

F v M
Our client was a pedestrian who was hit by a car. Liability was strenuously denied on the basis that our client should not have been in the road, and that the defendant driver did not have sufficient time to avoid hitting our client. Our client suffered serious head injuries and remained in a coma for several weeks after the accident. In addition, he suffered orthopaedic injuries and severe pre and post accident amnesia. Ceri arranged for a private investigator to be instructed to find out about our client’s lifestyle prior to the accident in order to draw a comparison to his post accident life for the purpose of assessing the value of his claim. The case was settled out of court and was valued in excess of £800,000.

D v L
Ceri acted for mother and son who were both injured in the same car accident. The son had been driving the car and his mother was his passenger. Due to stationary traffic ahead, the son had to perform an emergency stop. The vehicle behind failed to stop and collided with the vehicle in which our clients were driving. The Defendant driver alleged fault against the son, accusing him of stopping too suddenly and not allowing the driver behind enough time to stop safely behind him. Eventually the allegation of negligence against the son was dropped, and both claims were settled, taking in to account the physical and psychological injuries sustained.

W v R
Our client was correctly driving his work van when an oncoming driver lost control of her car veering in to our client’s car. Our client sustained soft tissue injuries to his chest and knee and suffered from severe post traumatic stress disorder requiring cognitive behavioural therapy. He was paid by his employer for his time off work, but they required repayment of the sick pay from his damages, which was in turn recovered from the Defendant’s insurers.

Our client relied on his family to care for him after the accident. A claim was made, and was successful, for the time his family had dedicated to him. Unfortunately, the driver of the other vehicle died shortly after the accident. A claim was made against her estate, and her insurers paid out. Our client was fortunate in that following treatment, he made a full recovery. He was paid nearly £13,000.00.

H v N
Our client was a passenger on a bus operated by the Defendant company. She had unfortunately sat on a defective seat. When the bus turned a corner, our client fell off the unsecured seat sustaining injury. The Defendant denied liability on the basis that they regularly checked the safety and maintenance of the seats. They denied that the seat was defective and suggested that even if it was, they could not possibly have known it was damaged. Eventually, they agreed to pay our client £4000 for the neck pains and acceleration of pre-existing back problems.

Accidents at Work:

A v M
Our client, who was a young adult, slipped on a puddle of water at work injuring her back. Her medical expert advised that she required urgent medical treatment which Ceri organised. The Defendant met the cost of the private treatment which proved to significantly improve our client’s symptoms enabling her to return to her full working capacity. She was awarded £15,000.00.

D v S
Our client was carrying timber as part of his normal duties at work, when he caught his knee on a plank of timber which was protruding from a nearby stack of timber. It was likely that the damage caused to his knee would require a knee replacement operation in the future, though this would not significantly interfere with his lifestyle. The case was fought by the Defendants but won at trial where our client was awarded £17,500.

K v T
Our client worked as a waiter in a restaurant. As he cleaned a drinking glass, it smashed in his hand lacerating his finger and causing tendon damage. His case settled out of court in the sum of £6,500.

Occupiers Liability:

F v R
Our client suffered head and back injuries when a shelf above him in a club collapsed and the contents of it fell on him. The head injuries were short lived but the back injuries required treatment to improve his symptoms, though it was anticipated that he would never recover completely from the back injuries. A settlement was agreed in the sum of £50,000.


G v S
Our client was on a night out with friends in a night club when she slipped on a wet floor, breaking her ankle. Initially, it was anticipated by our client’s medical expert that she would suffer extensively in to her future following the injuries she sustained. However, our client then made a good but not full recovery. Liability was never admitted but the Defendant agreed to pay her compensation of £15,000.

However, having agreed to make this payment, the Defendant night club then pleaded poverty and failed to make payment. Ceri arranged for High Court enforcement officers to attend at the night club and seize their goods for the purpose of re-sale to fund our client’s compensation entitlement. The night club then agreed to make payment in full.

Public Liability:

B v E
Our client was jogging when he tripped over tarmac that was raised due to overgrown tree roots. He sustained injuries to his ankle. He accepted part responsibility for the accident due to not looking where he was going and was awarded £6,500.

R v B
Our client fell as a result of broken paving and sustained a broken toe. The Defendant Council accepted that they were responsible for the area where she fell, even though the land was not part of the public highway. Liability was agreed. Our client was a Council tenant and had previous outstanding County Court Judgements against her for rent arrears and overdue Council Tax. An agreement was reached with the Council that her debts would be wiped and in addition, she received a small lump sum.


Product Liability:

E v C
Our client had purchased a pair of shoes. He subsequently slipped twice in close succession whilst wearing his new shoes sustaining injury to both wrists. A claim was bought against the retailer on the basis that the shoes were poorly designed/manufactured. The retailer admitted that the shoes were not manufactured to their normal standards and agreed to pay the Claimant the sum of £4,000.

P v S
Our client had purchased a hair dryer. The hair dryer caught fire and set our client’s hair alight. She suffered minor burning injuries to her neck with permanent, albeit barely visible, scarring. After denying liability, the Defendant eventually agreed to settle her claim in the sum of £3,500

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority:

J v CICA
Our client was subjected to a viscous and unprovoked attack where he suffered multiple, relatively minor physical injuries but suffered with post traumatic stress disorder which persisted and required psychiatric treatment. Our client was awarded in excess of £15,000.00.