Welcome to the Personal Injury Awards

Anthony Hughes has worked with a number of leading Manchester law firms, becoming a partner in 1995 and a managing partner in 2001. He practised in the litigation sector, specialising in insurance disputes—primarily of a casualty and regulatory nature.

In 2001, Anthony became managing partner of Ricksons, taking the firm from around £5m per annum in fee income to around £14m by 2006, at which point he agreed a merger with DWF.

Having sat on the board at DWF for two years, Anthony was invited to become CEO of Horwich Farrelly, which he did in May 2009.

In January 2014, Anthony formed Jackson Hughes Consulting, offering strategic consultancy advice to the legal, insurance and claims sectors, and has been involved in a number of projects since, including specific merger and acquisition activity.

In February 2019, he joined Simpson Millar as COO.

Anthony is currently commercial officer with KP Law, a law firm specialising in group actions and consumer redress. He was invited to take over as chair and CEO of The CHO in August 2022, a role he does alongside that with KPL.

Anthony is also a non-executive director of niche insurance and mobility services provider Driver Further.

Charles is joint head of chambers at Gatehouse Chambers (formerly known as Hardwicke) in London. He was appointed as Queen’s Counsel in 2018 and his practice is in complex, sensitive and high value personal injury and clinical negligence litigation. He won Personal Injury Silk of the Year at the Legal 500 UK Bar Awards 2023 and Clinical Negligence Silk of the Year at the Chambers & Partners UK Bar 2024 Awards ceremony. He was the elected Chair of the Personal Injuries Bar Association from 2022 to 2024. He sits as a Deputy High Court Judge and is an accredited Mediator.

Charles is an accredited advocacy and ethics teacher for new practitioners through Inner Temple, of which he is a Governing Bencher. He is passionate about striving for greater equality, diversity and inclusion at the Bar through outreach programmes including Pathways to Law, PASS and school insight events, mentoring and shadowing.

Charles is highly rated for his forensic skills, strong negotiating and persuasive advocacy. His practice is in claims arising from catastrophic brain and psychiatric injuries, spinal fractures, amputations and fatalities. He is known for his expertise in cases involving allegations of exaggeration and dishonesty. He has been at the cutting edge of legal developments in the field of psychiatric injury/secondary victim litigation, fatal accident claims and civil procedure: e.g. Charles was successful in the Supreme Court appeal in Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust [2024] UKSC 1, described as the “Tort case of the century” by Professor Dominic Regan.

Charles is regularly instructed in international litigation often involving cross-border issues. He represents major international insurers and Claimants/Plaintiffs in high value injury and clinical negligence cases being litigated in, for instance, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and Gibraltar.

His UK litigated cases also often have an international dimension with recent instructions having crossborder issues involving a range of jurisdictions including the USA, the Caribbean, Brazil, India, Poland, France, Romania and Belgium. He also has experience acting as an expert witness on UK law for foreign courts.

Charles is on the Editorial Boards of both Kemp & Kemp: the Quantum of Damages and the Personal Injuries and Quantum Reports.

David Bailey-Vella is the Chair of the Association of Costs Lawyers (ACL), elected to lead the profession in April 2025. As a Legal Director and Senior Costs Lawyer with extensive experience in high-value litigation, David is recognised for his strategic insight, technical precision, and commitment to advancing the costs law profession across England and Wales.

In his role as Chair, David represents the ACL at the highest levels of legal policy and professional development. He leads the organisation’s efforts to promote excellence in costs practice, advocate for reform, and support members through a rapidly evolving legal landscape. His tenure is marked by a focus on transparency, collaboration, and the integration of costs expertise into broader litigation strategy.

David’s professional background spans multi-track case budgeting, retainer drafting, and the management of complex costs disputes. He has advised on cost strategy in cases involving commercial litigation, clinical negligence, and group actions, and is known for his ability to translate technical rules into clear, actionable guidance for clients and colleagues alike.

As Legal Director, David oversees the development of internal protocols, and strategic risk management. He plays a key role in mentoring junior lawyers, shaping firm-wide policy, and ensuring that costs law remains central to effective litigation planning.

David is also a regular contributor to professional training and thought leadership within the ACL community and legal publications. His work reflects a deep belief in the value of education, clarity, and shared professional growth.

With a leadership style grounded in empathy and precision, David continues to shape the future of costs law—championing its role in access to justice, financial accountability, and the integrity of the legal process.

Louise Chance, the new Chair of the British Association of Brain Injury and Complex Case Managers (BABICM) from June 2025, has devoted her 35+ year career to the field of brain injury and neurorehabilitation.  She is passionate about the need for innovative, person-centred rehabilitation that meets the needs of people living with life changing injuries and conditions and is inspired by individuals and services driving development in this field. 

With a background in Occupational Therapy (OT), including senior and then lead OT roles at the Priory, Highbank in the 1990s and responsibility for the transitional living service providing inpatient and outreach rehabilitation, Louise launched her case management business, A Chance for Life Ltd, in 2002. Under her leadership, the business has grown into a highly respected provider of Case Management, Rehabilitation and Support services, serving the North of England and Scotland. 

Louise’s passion for collaboration, combined with a feeling of responsibility to use her skills and resources to help improve the lives of people affected by serious injury has led her to be an active participant in the brain injury community. She is a member of Headway North Cumbria, served on the Northern Acquired Brain Injury Forum committee for many years and, prior to taking on the role of Chair, served on the BABICM Council from 2018 to 2024. 

Luke was appointed chief executive of Headway UK in December 2022 having worked in various roles throughout the charity for the past 17 years, including deputy chief executive. Throughout his career at Headway, Luke has championed collaboration, working closely with the personal injury sector to ensure brain injury survivors and families have independent advice and access to specialist legal representation.

Matthew Tuff is president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and has specialised in catastrophic personal injury claims for over 25 years, currently as Legal Director in the Major Trauma Team at Moore Barlow. He is an accredited APIL Senior Litigator, meaning has demonstrated exceptional competence and expertise in handling personal injury claims through APIL’s rigorous accreditation process. The accreditation mark lets injured people know that they are in the safest and most dedicated hands.  

Matthew has acted in all types of serious personal injury cases including brain injury cases, spinal cord injury, amputation cases, fatal accidents, road traffic accidents, accidents at work and national disasters such as the Croydon tram crash. He is a regular contributing author for the legal publisher Lexis Nexis and APIL’s in-house journal ‘PI Focus’.

For approximately 11 years, Matthew was a volunteer trustee of Headway South West London, an amazing charity that helps survivors of brain injury. He has also worked with the spinal injury charity Backup Trust and have volunteered as a buddy working with wheelchair users on BackUp Trust activity weekends on Dartmoor.

Outside of work, I enjoy cycling and jogging. I am a member of Toastmasters International.

Sharon Allison is a partner and head of medical injury at Ashtons Legal and has extensive experience in all claims arising from medical injury events but specialises in catastrophic birth injury, brain injury and spinal injury claims. She has also recently taken up the post of the first female Chair of the Society for Clinical Injury Lawyers (SCIL). 

Sharon is a fellow of APIL and a specialist on the clinical negligence panel of AvMA.  

Sharon spent a significant part of her early career building expertise in inquest representation, which is now a large part of her team’s medical practice. She developed particular expertise in mental health and patient safety. 

She still spends time with national/regional stakeholders to collaboratively work together on streamlining the litigation process and putting grieving families at the heart of the process. 

Vicki is an accomplished and dynamic leader in rehabilitation and case management with a proven track record of start-ups, steering organisations towards excellence whilst bringing a wealth of knowledge in strategic planning, operational leadership and stakeholder engagement across health and social care settings.

Currently Vicki leads Social Return Case Management, a clinical service company she founded 10 years ago. She chaired The British Association of Brain Injury and Complex Case Management (BABICM) from 2021 – 2024 and has steered both organisations towards significant growth and transformative change. In the second half of 2024 she took up a university teaching and research position at Teesside University.

Vicki’s entrepreneurial approach inspires and motivates others with her commitment to quality, innovation, governance balanced with sustainable outcomes for communities and stakeholders. Vicki is adept at fostering collaboration, driving policy advocacy, and navigating complex regulatory environments, whilst upholding the vision and values of teams and organisations.