Jamie Cruickshanks

Biography

Jamie is a senior associate and solicitor in the clinical negligence department. He joined Stephensons in 1995 as a graduate clerk in the personal injury department. He carried out his legal training with Stephensons and qualified as a solicitor in the clinical negligence department in 1999, where he has specialised in medical negligence cases ever since. 

In order to further his knowledge of clinical negligence and medical litigation Jamie took a Masters degree in medical law. On completing the course he passed the medical law masters degree with a distinction.

Jamie is a member of the Law Society's Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme.

Jamie's cases cover the full range of clinical negligence work from minor injuries to cases of severe brain damage. Over the years he has taken on a number of cases where babies have suffered brain damage due to failures in treatment at or around the time of their birth.

No two clinical negligence cases are the same and each case brings with it a variety of challenges. Jamie is a strong believer in trying to do what is right for his clients and helping them through times in their lives that can often be very difficult for them and their families. His years of experience as a specialist clinical negligence solicitor, dealing with a broad range of cases, puts him in an excellent position to not only do the best in the cases he investigates but to provide practical and appropriate advice and assistance to his clients.

Jamie sees his role as solicitor as one of advising, supporting and enabling his clients to get through what can be quite a challenging time in their lives. Due to the nature of the various injuries suffered by his clients it is often the case that they become very knowledgeable about their own particular injuries and illnesses. Jamie finds that it is essential to work with his client as a team, to combine his knowledge and experience with their own often in-depth and valuable knowledge of their own medical condition.

Jamie is a good listener and he believes that the starting point for any clinical negligence claim is to listen to his clients. He believes it is essential to first try and understand clearly what it is that his clients want him to do for them and also what it is that they really want to achieve. Jamie believes that for a good working relationship it is essential that he first understands the objectives of his clients in order he can formulate a plan with them on how best to move forward.  

Jamie is also straight talker. His clients come to him, in the main, because they feel that they have been let down by a medical professional or institution. It takes a lot of courage for a client to then approach another professional, in yet another professional institution, and put their trust in them. Jamie therefore believes that he owes it to his clients to be as realistic about the prospects of success in their case as he can. 

When a case is about your health or about the health of a loved one then it is essential that you discuss your concerns with someone who has the ability to listen to your concerns and the skill and knowledge to know what to do about your issues. The vast majority of Jamie's clients do not want to pursue a claim for compensation purposes, they want to find out what has really happened and whether anyone was to blame for their or their loved ones injuries. If your case has reasonable prospects then Jamie will carry out investigations to answer those questions and if it looks as though failure have brought about avoidable harm and suffering then monetary compensation will follow.

Cases of interest

During his time assisting clients with their negligence claims Jamie has dealt with a wide variety of cases. Some cases of interest are as follows:

• Jamie assisted a client in a claim involving surgery which resulted in a damaged bowel. The client won £650,000 in compensation
• Jamie settled a claim for £2 million after failure to diagnose an abscess led to brain injury and the client’s loss of ability to work
• A client whose foot fracture was not diagnosed was awarded £195,000 compensation
• Jamie assisted the parents of a client who suffered brain injuries shortly after birth to secure compensation of £1.7million
• A mother who lost her young child as a result of hospital staff failures after she was urgently referred by her GP, was awarded £225,000 compensation
• A client undergoing a dental check-up had a piece of dental equipment dropped down his throat which lodged in his lung. He was awarded £300,000 in compensation

Recent settlements

• Jamie has settled a claim for £8,813,800 where there was a failure to manage his client’s birth, leading to her suffering mobility issues following a diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy.
• Jamie has settled a claim for £4,429,600 where there was a failure to manage his client’s birth, leading to him suffering severe cognitive and mobility issues following a diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy.
• Jamie has settled a claim for £8,183,000 where there was a failure to heed his client’s headache following her giving birth which lead to her suffering a bleed on the brain and subsequent brain damage.
• Jamie recently settled a claim for £17,500 where there was a failure to repair a ruptured medial ligament
• Jamie settled a claim in the sum of £70,000 for a client whose knee surgery was mismanaged resulting in the need for further surgery.
• Jamie acted for a client in relation to delay of surgical procedure to treat a brain tumour and post – operative infection which settled for £400,000
• Jamie settled a claim for £2 million after failure to diagnose an abscess led to brain injury and the loss of ability to work
• Jamie settled a claim for over £600,000 for a child who suffered spinal problems due to a failure to detect the diagnosis

What others say

"My negligence claim took many years to complete, due to the nature of the case. Despite this, the service me and family received was exceptional. Throughout the duration everything was explained and all questions were answered in depth with the next steps of the case being planned thoroughly with our knowledge and consent. Jamie was incredibly knowledgeable, aware and sympathetic to the sensitive nature of the case and respected the impact it had on my life and many others, adding ease to a very complex situation. I would definitely recommend Stephensons in the future."

"Jamie Cruickshanks  is ‘tenacious in securing the right results for his clients’." - Legal 500 2018

"May I just say you have been absolutely amazing throughout this long process and we would like to thank you from the bottom of both our hearts. You have been so efficient and professional and we would highly recommend you to any friends, family, colleagues…."

“Contact Stephensons for their advice on any legal matter, as they helped and explained everything I needed to know. We have used them twice and would do again.”

“We have always used Stephensons for years for different things. I will recommend them to others, very satisfied and friendly.”

“Stephensons hold your hand through a personally traumatic time, giving clear guidance and explanations. You are, most importantly, treated with great respect and kept fully informed at all times. Highly recommend."

"I would like to say that I would highly recommend Stephensons solicitors They have kept me informed every step of the way even though I had never personally met my solicitor as all consultations were over phone and via email I felt that I knew him very well and this didn’t detract from feeling like I was in good hands and receiving the best advice. I can also say the rest of the legal team were excellent too and looked after me. Anyone considering using this firm won’t regret it"