Oliver Rudd

Oliver’s areas of expertise include the following: –

• Complex orthopedic injuries including amputations;
• Brain injuries and neurological pathology including strokes and degenerative diseases;
• Fraud and exaggerated claims (including use of surveillance and social media evidence);
• Fatal Accidents;
• Pain and psychiatric disorders including functional neurological disorders, “CPRS” Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, somatoform disorders, chronic pain and fibromyalgia.

Oliver also has experience across a range of personal injury matters and related procedural and costs issues. Oliver is regularly instructed in cases following road traffic accidents involving catastrophic injuries and fatalities, including considerations of drug and alcohol use, and has also been instructed in relation to accidents involving e-scooters.

Oliver regularly acts for the MIB and has advised and represented various insurers in relation to road traffic claims and various indemnity issues.

He also has extensive experience of dealing with public liability claims and employers’ liability claims and has represented many private sector businesses, local authorities and Health Care Trusts.

His cases have included a variety of claims including alleged accidents at work, assaults, and alleged defective equipment.

Oliver has a varied paperwork practice and is regularly instructed to draft pleadings, advices on liability, quantum, Part 18 and 35 questions and schedules and counter-schedules in high value cases.

Oliver has given seminars on many aspects of personal injury, costs, and civil procedure and regularly provides in-house training to solicitors.

Oliver’s cases have included: –

• Acted for the successful insurer in R&B Plastering Ltd v UK Insurance Ltd [2025] EWHC 719 (KB), both at first instance (2023) and on appeal, with the High Court upholding the first instance decision as to liability following an accident at a building site and that rehabilitation payments made by an insurer to an injured party could be recovered within contribution proceedings against another insurer. This is understood to be the first reported case considering this discrete issue;
• Junior for the Defendant in case involving the brain injury of a junior doctor. The case involved complex issues regarding causation and quantum including future career prospects (2025);
• Oliver represented the Defendant in the successful strike out of a Claimant’s claim valued at c. £2 million. The case concerned an issue of late service of the Particulars of Claim and numerous procedural defaults (2004);
• Acted for the MIB in Liam Clark v (1) Darren Lee Farley (2) MIB (3) Ryan Edmunds [2018] EWHC 1007 (QB), led by Stephen Worthington QC, a case concerning the scope of ex turpi causa in the context of a Claimant alleged to have been participating in a joint illegal enterprise involving off-road motorcycles;
• Acted for an insurer following an intimated claim of over £3.5 million in which the Claimant alleged he had developed functional neurological disorder as a result of the accident. The case was compromised at a fraction of the sum sought (2025);
• Advice and pleading in fatal accident involving alleged use of nitrous oxide, including issues of illegality.
• Advice and pleading in case involving serious accident involving an e-scooter, including issues of illegality.
• Acted for insurer in claim following a road traffic accident in which the Claimant alleged he had sustained a significant brain injury resulting in severe handicap. Oliver advised throughout the case and ultimately drafted a pleading of fundamental dishonesty (2024);
• Advice in context of automatism defence in high value road traffic case involving complicated pre-accident history of epileptic episodes;
• Successful declaration voiding policy of motor insurance from inception pursuant to s.152(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 with consideration of the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 in the context of catastrophic claims for personal injury;
• Successful strike out of Claimant’s claim following cross-examination and enforcement of costs in favour of the Defendant pursuant to r.44.15(1)(c). Successful application for wasted costs against Claimant’s legal representatives;
• Acted for the Defendant in case involving the application of r.36.10(5)(b) (now 36.17(5)) in relation to costs consequences following compromise of claim pleaded at over £2.56 million which ultimately settled for £150,000 following disclosure of surveillance evidence. Issues included timing of disclosure of surveillance evidence, expert evidence, construction of CPR Amendment Rules, and conduct;
• Acting on behalf of NHS Trust, successful low compromise of claim pleaded at c. £1.1 million involving complex issues of causation;
• Represented the Defendant following significant claim following low speed road traffic accident resulting in alleged fibromyalgia and adjustment disorder;
• Acting for the Defendant, successful judicial finding that road traffic accident had been intimated involving vehicles acting in tandem to induce a collision on a slip-road. Findings of fundamental dishonesty against C;
• Advice leading to early settlement in case following road traffic accident in which C sustained brain injury and a range of orthopaedic and psychological injuries.

Oliver’s experience covers all types of fraudulent claims including staged and induced accidents, invented accidents and phantom passenger claims.

Oliver deals with both individual claims as well as large fraud rings. He regularly advises and drafts proceedings in cases of this nature and has successfully defended cases for leading insurers with findings of fundamental dishonestly.

Oliver advises parties in all aspects of fundamentally dishonesty and fraud and has extensive experience of related costs and associated procedural issues. These include:

• Use and deployment of surveillance evidence and social media evidence; Similar-fact evidence;
• Wasted costs applications;
• Third party disclosure and costs applications;

Oliver has dealt with fraudulent and suspected fraudulent claims in a number of contexts including road traffic claims, disease claims, claims against local authorities, claims against employers and those within the construction and agricultural industries.

Oliver’s cases have included:

• Acting for the Defendant in successful disposal of a case intimated at over £3.5 million, with the case disposed of at a fraction of this value;
• Acting for the Defendant, successful finding that road traffic accident had been intimated involving vehicles acting in concert to induce a collision on a slip-road. Findings of fundamental dishonesty against Claimant;
• Successful strike out of the Claimant’s claim following road traffic accident following cross examination and enforcement of costs in favour of the Defendant pursuant to r.44.15(1)(c). Successful application for wasted costs against the Claimant’s legal representatives following contested costs hearing;
• Da Costa & Anor v Sargaco & Anor [2016] EWCA Civ 764. Represented the Defendant at first instance. Case involving judicial decision to exclude one Claimant from court whilst the other gave evidence.

Oliver has extensive experience dealing with a range of costs issues from discrete costs points arising in litigation to detailed assessment proceedings.

He is regularly instructed to advise on various costs points including those relating to fraud and exaggerated claims.

Oliver is regularly instructed in Costs and Case Management Conferences in high value cases involving catastrophic injuries including, brain injuries, chronic pain and fibromyalgia.

Oliver has also experience advising and representing parties in detailed assessment hearings at both the County Courts and the Senior Courts Costs Office in a range of personal injury and industrial disease matters.

Oliver has given seminars on costs issues and regularly received paperwork regarding costs issues.

Recent cases have included:

• Acted for the Defendant in a case involving the application of r.36.10(5)(b) (now 36.17(5)) in relation to costs consequences following compromise of claim pleaded at over £2.56 million which ultimately settled for £150,000 following disclosure of surveillance evidence. Issues included timing of disclosure of surveillance evidence, expert evidence, construction of CPR Amendment Rules, and conduct;
• Acting for the Defendant, late acceptance by Claimant of the Defendant’s Part 36 offer during detailed assessment hearing following judgments in favour of Defendant on initial parts of the Claimant’s bill including issues of hourly rates, duplication and proportionality;
• Successful reduction in the Claimant’s bill of costs and recovery of costs of detailed assessment hearing following the Claimant’s failure to better the Defendant’s Part 36 offer before Senior Costs Master;

Oliver has experience in advising and representing parties in multi-track produce liability actions involving range of alleged defective consumer and medicinal products.

He has been instructed to represent both national and multi-national clients in a variety of product liability cases involving, but not limited to, personal injury, property damage (including fire and water damage) and alleged economic loss.

Oliver’s cases have included: –

• White good products;
• Defective drugs;
• Defective medical devices;  Showers;
• Windows and fittings;  Power tools;
• Agricultural equipment;  Batteries;
• Ladders, steps and hammocks;

Oliver has extensive experience in representing and advising local authorities and Health Care Trusts regarding a broad spectrum of claims.

These include:-

• Claims for slipping and tripping accidents; A variety of accidents at work;
• Claims for assaults including within the contexts of schools, offices and prisons;

Oliver has a broad insurance practice and is regularly instructed on behalf of leading national defendant firms and a number of international insurers.

Oliver regularly deals with various insurance matters including indemnity disputes in relation to the Road Traffic Act 1988.

BVC (Ranked Outstanding in Personal Injury/Clinical Negligence) BPP Law School

GDL City University

MSc London School of Economics and Political Sciences

BA (Biological Sciences) Oxon

Exhibitioner (New College, Oxford)

Academic Prizes (New College, Oxford)

Sir Thomas More Bursary, Lincoln’s Inn

Lord Haldane Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn

Personal Injuries Bar Association

Oliver is an excellent barrister providing reasoned and tactical approaches to matters, with top-notch drafting skills. -Chambers & Partners, 2025

He possessed a keen eye for detail, listened and adapted arguments accordingly when he needed to, asserted his own position persuasively and by being collaborative in his approach achieved a successful settlement. -Legal 500, 2025

He is highly experienced, very easy to work with and hard-working. – Chambers & Partners, 2024

Oliver is very pragmatic and has a commercial mind. He provides helpful advice. – Chambers & Partners, 2024

Oliver’s collaborative style is incredibly effective, and his equally refined advocacy is well-received by Judges. – Legal 500, 2024

He is very hands-on, thorough and approachable. He always gives 100% and is reliable. – Legal 500, 2023