Lois Aldred

Lois specialises in serious and high value personal injury litigation.  She acts for both claimants and defendants and is sought after for her ability to efficiently advise on complex claims involving difficult liability and causation issues.

Her experience covers all aspects of personal injury litigation including EL, PL, Motor, at all stages of proceedings along with inquests.

Lois has a, some might say niche, interest and extensive experience of matters of procedural law relating to personal injury litigation.  Most recently she represented the successful appellant in the High Court’s overturning of a decision to retrospectively extend time for service of a claim form under CPR 7.6(3).

Travel litigation is a central pillar of Lois’ work with a significant proportion of her work being in the field.  She works for major tour operators, airlines and international insurers and is recognised for her skill and experience in the field.

Lois advises and acts in all types of claim involving accidents abroad or during travel.

Her considerable experience firstly as a PI practitioner means that she is sought in claims involving very serious illness, mass illness outbreaks, legionnaires contamination and accidents that result in life-changing injuries.

More generally Lois has experience in cases involving most aspects of travel litigation and is experienced in dealing with the jurisdictional and evidential issues arising in such cases.

Lois is regularly instructed in cases involving a considering the applicability of the Athens Convention.

Recent interesting cases in the field include:

• Advising and successfully representing a claimant in amending a claim under CPR 17.4 brought after two but just within three years of his disembarkation from a cruise by relying on Section 32 Limitation Act 1980.  The application required extensive consideration of the relevance of CPR 17.3 and 17.4 and the whether the defendant’s response to a letter of claim was sufficiently misleading to amount to the deliberate concealment of a fact relevant to the claimant’s right of action pursuant to s32.
• Acting for a French insurer defending a serious injury claim brought by a professional cyclist arising in respect of an accident during a professional cycling tour in France.

Lois has particular interest in claims involving accidents in France and francophone countries, having studied French Law in Strasbourg.  Lois can also bring useful insight to cultural issues involving claims with a Japanese element, having lived and worked in Japan prior to becoming a barrister.

Lois is recognised as an experienced and able industrial disease junior.  She advises and acts in cases involving occupational respiratory conditions, dermatological conditions, industrial deafness, and upper limb disorders.

Lois has a busy practice advising and acting for former service-personnel.

Lois is able to advise on the most complex cases that pose difficult limitation and causation issues involving multiple defendants.

Lois is regularly instructed in detailed assessment proceedings in the County Court and SCCO, costs applications and cases involving costs arguments relating to claims falling out of the MOJ portal. Lois’ technical specialism is well-suited to arguing difficult of points of principle.

Lois acts in costs appeals which have included a successful appeal against an incorrect tariff-based approach to the assessment of costs on the standard basis following trial.  Lois also acts in High Court appeals relating to costs disputes and has represented a Solicitor in a Solicitor Client assessment appeal in the High Court.

Having been an employment practitioner Lois is properly equipped to handle detailed assessment proceedings that relate to costs orders from the employment tribunal. Nonetheless much of Lois’ Costs work relate to costs disputes from arising commercial and personal injury litigation.

Lois is a regular Contributor to Chambers’ Costs Litigation Blog.

Lois’ practice includes general contractual and commercial disputes and credit hire.

Cases involving suspected fraud form an important area of Lois’ practice. She is consistently approached at an early stage to assess the merits and advise on tactics in investigating and proving suspected fundamental dishonesty. While much of her work in the area is on the instructions of Defendants, she receives Clamant instructions in high value cases where Lois’ ability to provide early advice on the evidence is sought. Most recently Lois advised and acted for a major tour operator in a trial solely on the issue of fundamental dishonesty in an early-discontinued group litigation and was successful in securing a finding of fundamental dishonesty in the claims with an enforceable costs order against the Claimants pursuant to CPR 44.16(1)

LLB Law with French Law and French Language ( First Class Honours)

BVC (Very Competent)

Diplôme d’études juridiques françaises, Université Robert Schuman, Strasbourg

Personal Injuries Bar Association

Oxford University Press prize for Best 1st year mark in Law French/Law German Degrees

Inner Temple Scholarship

Inner Temple Entrance Exhibition

Hubert Parry Benefactor’s Scholarship

Duke of Edinburgh Entrance Exhibition

Recorder (Midlands Circuit 2019)