Craig Murray

Craig has experience in all aspects of personal injury law, including high value road traffic accidents, employers’ liability claims, occupiers’ liability claims, disease cases and common law liability.

• He has acted for defendants and claimants in high value RTA claims involving vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. He is familiar with preparing and leading evidence on driver perception, conspicuity and accident reconstruction. He regularly prepares and leads evidence from motor engineers and forensic collision investigators.
• He has experience of a full range of employer liability claims, including: work equipment cases, accidents at height, accidents on construction sites, and fatal diving accidents.
• Craig has successfully defended occupiers’ liability claims concerning listed buildings (Brown v. Lakeland 2012 Rep LR 140; Norgate v. Britannia Hotels [2018] 8 WLUK 71).
• Craig has acted for claimants and defendants in mesothelioma and other asbestos-related disease cases. He has acted for claimants in noise-induced hearing loss cases, HAVS cases and silicosis claims. He has acted for claimants and defendants in Legionella claims.
• Craig is regularly instructed by Scottish local authorities. He has succeeded in novel arguments concerning the non-justiciability of certain claims (Ryder v. Highland Council [2013] CSOH 95; Macdonald v. Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar [2015] CSOH 132) and recently appeared in the important appeal of Bowes v. Highland Council [2018] CSIH 757.

Craig has a keen interest in clinical negligence and the wider aspects of medical law. He holds a Diploma in Forensic Medical Sciences. He has acted for claimants in clinical negligence and dental negligence cases in Scotland for 10 years. He has also acted for defendants in clinical negligence and ophthalmic negligence cases.

Recent cases include:

• A fatal claim concerning a failure to diagnose lung cancer.
• A substantial claim by a young competition dancer for a failure to diagnose a mid-foot fracture, leading to 5 operations, arthrodesis and life-long disability.
• A failure to diagnose deep vein thrombosis, leading to amputation of a lower leg.

Craig has been instructed in some of the largest group litigations in Scotland concerning product liability, including:

Medicines. In a claim against Merck relating to Vioxx, an NSAID painkiller, 6.5 million documents were produced by the defendant. Claims concerning the drug Celebrex are ongoing (see Richards & Jarvie v. Pharmacia [2017] CSOH 77 (aff’d [2018] CSIH 31).

Surgical mesh products.

PIP implants.

Metal on metal hips.

Craig also has experience of claims arising from motor vehicles and surgical stents.

Craig regularly acts for claimants and defendants in mesothelioma and other asbestos-related disease cases in Scotland. He is familiar with the aetiology of lung disease and the latency period of asbestos-related disease.

He has acted for claimants in noise-induced hearing loss cases, both cumulative exposure and ‘acoustic shock’ cases.

Craig has been involved in HAVS cases and silicosis claims.

He has acted for claimants and defendants in Legionella claims.

Craig is regularly instructed by Scottish local authorities. He has succeeded in novel arguments concerning the non-justiciability of certain claims (Ryder v. Highland Council [2013] CSOH 95; Macdonald v. Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar [2015] CSOH 132) and recently appeared in the important appeal of Bowes v. Highland Council [2018] CSIH 757.

Craig has represented Scottish police forces in a number of cases.

Craig is regularly instructed in Scotland to represent insurers in personal injury claims arising from road traffic accidents where fraud is suspected. He has run several trials of 4 days’ duration or more, in which fraud has been pled on the basis of contrived accidents, fictitious accidents or phantom passengers.

Craig has a particular interest in personal injury claims arising from agricultural accidents.

Recent cases include:

• Defending numerous claims of injuries caused by cattle at market.
• Defending landowners in respect of accidents involving trees (Craig holds a LANTRA tree felling qualification)
• Defending a claim by a worker who lost an arm in a thresher (ongoing)
• Road traffic accident involving a tractor, in which Craig was trained on a John Deere 6930 tractor
• Work equipment cases involving JCBs, grain dryers, crushers and fence post drivers.

LLB (Hons), University of Edinburgh

LLM (DIst), Commercial Law, University of Edinburgh

LLM, Human Rights Law, University of Strathclyde

Dip Legal Practice, University of Edinburgh

Dip Forensic Medical Sciences, Worshipful Society of Apothecaries

Member Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

Faculty of Advocates Scholarship (2007)

Personal Injuries Bar Association

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

Legal 500, Leading Individual, 2019

“His written work is of an impeccably high standard.” Legal 500, 2019

“His attention to detail is phenomenal; he has an excellent legal mind. He always gives advice in a clear manner and is very pragmatic and thorough. He also has very good negotiation skills.” Chambers & Partners, 2020