Joanne Staphnill

Joanne advises on insurance and reinsurance, clinical and professional negligence defence, dispute resolution, litigation, arbitration, risk management, and professional conduct training, with expertise in coverage issues and policy drafting.

• Advised a medical indemnity insurer on coverage where the underlying claim was a very high-value clinical negligence claim against an in-patient mental health facility.
• Advised a London-based medical indemnity insurer on coverage where the underlying claim was a high value and high profile clinical negligence claim and Judicial Review proceedings in the Caribbean.
• Advised a medical indemnity insurer on a series of related coverage questions relating to late notification by various insureds, and subsequently redrafted the policy wording to address inconsistencies in the notification provisions.
• Drafted a combined insurance policy aimed at self-employed surgeons, encompassing clinical negligence indemnity, legal expenses insurance, public liability cover and other types of cover.
• Drafted a combined insurance policy aimed at talking therapy professionals, encompassing clinical negligence indemnity, legal expenses insurance, and other types of cover.
• Drafted a combined insurance policy aimed at pharmacists, encompassing clinical negligence indemnity, public liability, criminal and professional discipline proceedings legal expenses cover and employment disputes.

Joanne has extensive experience in clinical negligence defence work, She represents healthcare and medical professionals facing compensation claims, and advises on other disputes arising out of a healthcare context.

• Provided a medico-legal advice service for specialist surgeons and sports doctors from 2014 to the present.
• Advised on a multimillion-pound claim involving a psychiatric in-patient who absconded and suffered severe injuries.
• Represented a surgeon in a high value claim involving complications following abdominal surgery.
• Advised on a multimillion-pound claim involving a patient injured by an air embolism during cardiac surgery.
• Acted in a high-value claim arising from orthopaedic surgery to the knee.
• Acted for a cosmetic surgeon facing several claims from different claimants arising from breast augmentation procedures. Not a group claim, but the claimants were known to be in contact with each other and were represented by the same claimant lawyer, and a number of the allegations in the different claims were identical, and the procedural complexity was increased by the claims being started at different times so that some claimants would have the benefit of knowing the defences raised against other claimants making the same allegations.

Joanne has extensive experience in professional negligence defence work, she assists on professional negligence matters arising within partnerships and professional practices, particularly those involving insurance intermediaries and solicitors.

• Acted in Ocean Finance & Mortgages Limited v Oval Insurance Broking Limited [2016] EWHC 160 (Comm), defending a £5 million claim against an insurance broker arising out of PPI mis-selling together with a Part 20 contribution claim against another broker, involving complex coverage issues.
• Achieved a pre-action resolution of a large claim against an insurance broker arising out of Covid-19 related business interruption claims affecting a number of hotels.
• Achieved a pre-action resolution of a potentially very large claim against an insurance broker arising out of selling an allegedly inappropriate private health insurance policy to a client with a history of cancer.
• Achieved a discontinuance of court proceedings that had been brought against an insurance broker in relation to an alleged negligent failure to obtain property damage cover for buildings and contents for a client which owned a professional woodworking workshop that was destroyed by fire.
• Achieved an excellent settlement at mediation on behalf of an insurance broker specialising in high net worth clients, in a large claim involving an alleged significant under-insurance of buildings and contents in relation to a very large, listed, residence. The matter involved complex issues of causation and contributory negligence, and extensive quantum evidence due to the large volume of valuable jewellery, artwork, guns, antique furniture etc that was damaged or destroyed in the fire.

Recognised by The Legal 500 for Insurance and Reinsurance Litigation 2009–2012, 2015

Recognised by The Legal 500 for Clinical Negligence 2015–2019, 2025-2026

Recognised by The Legal 500 for Professional Negligence 2015