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Liam is a Legal Director based in Weightmans Leeds Office.

Liam is a member of our Insurance segment and forms part of our Occupational Disease team. He is a specialist in defending occupational disease claims and in particular asbestos related injury claims. Liam also has experience defending group actions concerning historic events.

Liam deals with the full array of disease claims, particularly complex and high value asbestos claims. Liam deal with a range of different, often novel, exposure types and specialises in low dose and causation arguments often advising on strategic points for Defendants and Insurers. He is often asked for advice in respect of emerging diseases. However, Liam has experience across a wide range of disease types such as asthma, dermatitis, silicosis, HAVs, NIHL and non-asbestos cancer claims.

Liam also has an interest in costs litigation having completed a pupillage with a strong costs focus. He is asked to advise on cost issues arising within disease claims especially on the assessment of success fees in mesothelioma claims.

Liam is routinely instructed at both pre-litigation and litigation stages to advise on liability, quantum, limitation and other tactics and is appreciated by his clients for his deep knowledge of disease litigation and claims tactics. He has run High Court cases to trial having successfully represented the Defendants in McGowan -v- AMEC (2017) and Fudge -v- FG Minter [2018].

Liam sits on the Rules SFT within FOIL and is the Director and Head of Academy at IRLA (Insurance and Reinsurance Legacy Association - the trade body for legacy insurers), where he organises the association's training packages for its members and sits on its board.

Sectors:

Services:

  • Recommended lawyer

    Legal 500, 2021

  • Key lawyer for Defendant Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence (Yorkshire)

    Legal 500, 2023
Experience and noteable cases:

Fudge -v- FG Minter [2018] which concerned the application of the limitation period and section 33 discretion in a historic asbestos claim. Liam was required to give evidence in the High Court on the issue of discretion where his investigation of the claim was described as diligent.

McGown -v- AMEC (2017) concerned a very historic asbestosis claim where the Court found that there was insufficient evidence to make findings of exposure.

Liam is presently instructed n the BA 149 group litigation involving personal injury claims from those onboard Flight BA-149 which was captured by Iraqi forces during “Gulf War 1” in Kuwait airport at the outbreak of hostilities.