Anna Symington

Anna specialises in high value personal injury claims. Chambers & Partners 2024 say “Anna is superb, a great advocate with a no-nonsense approach.”

Anna acts in claims involving serious personal injury, with particular emphasis on claims with complex medical causation issues.  Her practice focuses on:

  • all forms of pain syndromes, including chronic pain syndrome, complex regional pain syndrome, fibromyalgia and somatoform disorders;
  • fatalities;
  • serious spinal damage;
  • brain injury cases, including those characterised as subtle in nature and FND claims;
  • complex orthopaedic and amputation cases;
  • psychiatric conditions

Anna deals with liability disputes in all forms of RTA, EL and PL claims.  She is currently instructed in a number of high value RTA claims with multiple accident reconstruction experts.

Her caseload is heavily weighted towards acting for Insurers, but she is also regularly instructed on behalf of Claimants.  Anna frequently appears unled against KCs.

Anna lives in the West Country but her practice is nationwide.

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Personal Injury

Anna’s areas of expertise are principally:

  • Catastrophic injuries (including SBI and amputation claims)
  • CRPS
  • Psychiatric and chronic pain/fibromyalgia cases
  • Fraudulent and exaggerated claims
  • Fatal accidents
  • Employers’ liability issues
  • Motor insurance issues
  • Public liability claims

Examples of recent/ongoing cases include representing:

  • the Defendant as Junior Counsel in Mustard v Flower, a claim involving issues over the recording of medico-legal examinations;
  • the Defendant in a JSM in a claim which settled with a lump sum and PP award for a Claimant who had sustained a moderate to severe TBI and a C5 incomplete tetraplegia ‘ASIA D’ injury
  • An Insurer pursuing a contribution claim following a bus crash with several fatalities which settled at JSM;
  • A Claimant who lost his little and ring fingers in a machine saw. Claim settled at JSM with significant allowance for an i-limb;
  • An elderly Claimant who sustained an above knee amputation and lost capacity after being run over by a bus, where the claim settled with a lump sum award and an award of periodical payments being made;
  • a Claimant with CRPS where the claim ultimately settled for more than £1.5 million;
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Fraud

Anna acts for Insurers in all aspects of fraud related to personal injury claims. She is preferred Counsel for one major Insurer in all their Casualty claims. Anna deals with:

  • Exaggerated injury claims
  • Phantom passenger claims
  • LSI
  • Staged and semi-staged accidents
  • Ringed fraud
  • Holiday sickness

Examples of cases include:

  • Acting for an Insurer in a fraudulent Casualty claim where the digital images of the accident locus were taken hours before the accident. Successfully obtained an FD finding following Claimant’s discontinuance
  • Acting for several Insurers in suspected linked fraudulent claims arising out of trip accidents in a particular area of the country
  • Acting for an Insurer in an RTA suspected never to have occurred. C discontinued part way through the trial following cross examination
  • Acting for an Insurer in a fraudulent claim brought following a staged bus accident.
  • Acting for a well known travel company in a holiday sickness claim where the Claimant discontinued at the door of court
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Inquests

Anna has experience of a broad range of inquests. She regularly appears in Article 2 inquests and those inquests with and without a jury. She recently acted in an inquest where the other IPs were represented by King’s Counsel.

Examples of cases include:

  • Representing the Probation Service in an inquest following the drug related death of an individual in a hostel
  • Representing the Prison service in (amongst others) numerous self inflicted deaths where there were issues over prevention and the adequacy of the care (and medical care) provided. These included the death of an individual on a 24 hour ‘suicide watch’
  • Representing the family following the death of a farm hand who was run over by a faulty tractor (and where the Jury returned unlawful killing)
  • Representing Insurers in inquests following road traffic accidents
  • Representing care homes in inquests following falls and also where there were issues over the adequacy of medical treatment provided
  • Representing a university in an inquest following a student falling out of a window
  • Representing the MoD following the death of a serviceman on a Naval base
  • Representing the family in an inquest concerning the death of an Engineer who fell from an unguarded edge whilst carrying out an inspection
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Insurance

Anna deals with cases involving the hierarchy of Motor Insurers.

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Costs

Anna is regularly instructed in CCMCs on behalf of both Claimants and Defendants. She is also experienced in appearing at detailed assessments.

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Appointments & Memberships

Appointed Junior Counsel to the Crown, Attorney General’s Provincial Panel of Counsel (2007 – 2018).

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Directories

Tenacious and good with detail, an excellent strategic thinker. – Legal 500, 2024

She is extremely thorough. Anna is excellent all round. – Chambers & Partners, 2024

Anna is very businesslike in her approach. She is very meticulous and gets things done quickly. –  Chambers & Partners, 2024

Anna is superb, a great advocate with a no-nonsense approach. – Chambers & Partners, 2024

Anna is able to quickly digest significant volumes of evidence and unpick it. She is extremely detailed and has an excellent approach to expert and lay witnesses in conference. – Chambers & Partners, 2024

Anna is a very thorough advocate, leaving no stone unturned. She is well prepared and always willing to go above and beyond. –  Chambers & Partners, 2024

Anna provides clear advice to clients which is firm but friendly. She is commercially aware and an excellent advocate. –  Chambers & Partners, 2024

Chambers and Partners 2023 recommends Anna for her Motor Insurance Fraud practice. “Adept at handling matters involving fraud, including phantom passenger, as well as staged or fictional accident claims. She additionally demonstrates considerable expertise in fundamental dishonesty matters. Symington assists both claimants and defendants.”

“She is very quick to get to the point and shows great attention to detail. Her advice is always straightforward.”

Anna has a good eye for detail. – Chambers & Partners, 2023

She is a meticulous barrister. – Chambers & Partners, 2023

Anna is excellent. – Legal 500, 2023

A fine, businesslike advocate. – Chambers & Partners, 2022

She is meticulous in her preparation, as well as being thoughtful and wise in the advice given. – Legal 500, 2022

She’s very good in conference and is extremely good on her feet and in cross-examination. She’s responsive, very technical, and is a go-to lawyer. – Chambers & Partners, 2021

Very thorough and easy to work with, she has a great way with clients and thoroughly grasps the issues of a case. – Chambers & Partners, 2020

Adept at handling matters involving fraud, including phantom passenger, as well as staged or fictional accident claims. She additionally demonstrates considerable expertise in fundamental dishonesty matters. Symington assists both claimants and defendants. – Chambers & Partners

She is very quick to get to the point and shows great attention to detail. Her advice is always straightforward. – Chambers & Partners

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Anna has a good eye for detail.

Chambers & Partners, 2023

Anna is excellent.

Legal 500, 2023

She is a meticulous barrister.

Chambers & Partners, 2023

She is extremely thorough. Anna is excellent all round.

Chambers & Partners, 2024

Anna is very businesslike in her approach. She is very meticulous and gets things done quickly.

Chambers & Partners, 2024

Anna is superb, a great advocate with a no-nonsense approach.

Chambers & Partners, 2024

Anna is able to quickly digest significant volumes of evidence and unpick it. She is extremely detailed and has an excellent approach to expert and lay witnesses in conference.

Chambers & Partners, 2024

Anna is a very thorough advocate, leaving no stone unturned. She is well prepared and always willing to go above and beyond.

Chambers & Partners, 2024

Anna provides clear advice to clients which is firm but friendly. She is commercially aware and an excellent advocate.

Chambers & Partners, 2024

Tenacious and good with detail, an excellent strategic thinker.

Chambers & Partners, 2024