Richard Wheeler bw

Richard Wheeler

Year of Call: 2004
Email Address: [email protected]
CJSM: [email protected]
Telephone: 01962 868884

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Clerks Details

  • Clerk Name: Edward Holdstock
  • Clerk Telephone: 01962 868 884
  • Clerk Email: [email protected]

Personal Injury

‘Richard is a brilliant barrister. He is a fearsome and well prepared advocate, who pushes hard for his clients.’ - Legal 500 2023/Personal Injury/Leading Juniors/London Bar

Sample of recent cases:

  • H v MOD (High Court). £25m claim. Royal Marine suffered catastrophic spinal injury while training.
  • Wilson v MoJ [2024] EWHC 2389 (KB), £8m claim arising from prisoner stabbed by another inmate, causing serious spinal injury.
  • D v R (High Court): £1.5m claim. Motorcycle accident causing multiple injuries.
  • W v HF (High Court): inquest and subsequent £800,000 fatal accident claim for wife and children arising from death of farm hand on a farm in Dorset.
  • M v MOD (High Court): £2m claim. Electric shock on board naval vessel.
  • N & Ors v H: £1.5m claim, serious spinal injury when pallet load of goods fell from back of a lorry. Loss of lucrative niche business.
  • H v MOD (High Court): £¾m claim. Serious spinal injury on Diego Garcia, British Indian Overseas Territory.
  • P v B (£1m claim) serious foot injury at New Covent Garden market when pedestrian hit by forklift truck.
  • T v MOD (High Court): £1.6m claim. Soldier injured in two accidents in the army. Acting as junior alone against KC. Settled at JSM.
  • B v MOD (High Court: £1m claim. Soldier injured in non-freezing cold injury. Contested medical causation, neurological and rheumatological experts.
  • B v N (High Court): £¾m asbestos claim. Acting as junior alone against KC. Settled at JSM.
  • P v MOD (High Court): £1.7m claim for functional neurological disorder. Settled at JSM.
  • M v MOD (High Court, 2022): £2.5m claim for neurological injuries sustained in a tank in Canada. Settled at JSM.
  • B v MOD (High Court, 2022: £1m claim for sexual harassment and workplace bullying in the RAF.
  • Day v DWP & Capita (High Court), 2021: £½m claim for negligence and breach of human rights. Led by Neil Sheldon KC.
  • Kimathi & Others v FCO (High Court, 2016-2018): defending a group action involving 40,000 claimants, arising out of the Kenyan Emergency in the 1950s. Led by Guy Mansfield KC and Neil Block KC.
  • Articles
    • How to get the Court to hear your case during the Coronavirus pandemic

      3PB specialist Civil barrister Richard Wheeler has produced an article on how to get the Court to hear your case during the Coronavirus pandemic.

      The article “Getting the Court to Hear Your Case During the Pandemic” provides an insight into county court civil listing during the pandemic which may assist litigants to retain their current court listings. It provides answers to the following questions:

      • What does the court’s triage process involve?
      • What considerations might the court have in mind during triage?
      • Why was my case adjourned when it was suitable for remote hearing?
      • What practical issues do judges face during a remote hearing?
      • What can litigants do to help ensure a case remains listed and is effective as a remote hearing?

      View Article
  • Recommendations

    ‘Always impressed with his advocacy and the manner in which he is able to present complex issues in a relatable manner. He is also excellent in conference and always well liked by clients.’

    Legal 500 2025/Personal Injury, Industrial Disease and Insurance Fraud/ London Bar/ Leading Juniors

    ‘Richard is an excellent barrister. He is a fearsome advocate with an eye for a crucial argument. He is tactically astute and always considers all potential issues in a claim.’

    Legal 500 2025/Personal Injury/Western Circuit/Leading Juniors

    'Richard is very analytical and knows the inquest process inside out. He is well prepared and brings his knowledge across well to put families at ease throughout the whole process.’

    Legal 500 2025/Inquests and Inquiries/Western Circuit/Leading Juniors - Tier 1

    Richard Wheeler is involved in several complex claims, including acting for the Ministry of Justice in a case concerning a £200,000 claim brought by a prisoner who suffered serious injuries from an assault.

    ‘Richard is very detail-orientated and is able to compute voluminous levels of information into clear and concise advice. He is also very adept on his feet and is able to put forward a complex legal argument into a persuasive representation.’

    Legal 500 2025/Personal Injury/ South Eastern Circuit/ Leading Juniors - Tier 1

    ‘Richard is excellent at inquest work. He is a tenacious advocate but is also very intuitive and can read a coroner well in order to adapt his approach. He is excellent with clients and extremely personable, which is so crucial in inquest work. Richard is always fully prepared and readily grasps the key points in any inquest.’

    Legal 500 2024/Inquests and Inquiries/Western Circuit/Leading Juniors

    ‘Richard is an excellent barrister. He has a great eye for detail and is able to pick up on salient points quickly.'

    Legal 500 2024/Personal Injury, Industrial Disease and Insurance Fraud/ London Bar/ Leading Juniors

    ‘Richard is probably one of the best all round barristers around. Both his advocacy and paper work is exceptional. He is excellent with clients and extremely personable,

    Legal 500 2024/Personal Injury/Western Circuit/Leading Juniors

    'Richard is able to approach difficult issues flexibly and pragmatically to achieve the best outcome for his client. He is very personable and builds up a good rapport with his clients.’

    ‘very knowledgeable’ and ‘meticulous with his preparation and attention to detail’

    Legal 500 2024/Personal Injury/ South Eastern Circuit/ Leading Juniors - Tier 1

    ‘Richard is excellent and extremely detailed when assessing quantum and has a particular speciality in dealing with complex fatal cases. His advice is always meticulous and considered.’

    Legal 500 2023/Personal Injury/South Eastern Circuit - Ranked Tier 1

    ‘Richard is a brilliant barrister. He is a fearsome and well prepared advocate, who pushes hard for his clients.’

    Legal 500 2023/Personal Injury/Leading Juniors/London Bar

    Richard Wheeler is ‘tenacious‘ and ‘excellent tactically with significant insight and experience to progress complex cases‘.

    'Richard is very knowledgeable, and quick to get to grips with the essential elements of the case. His advice is always meticulous and considered.'

    Legal 500 2023/Personal Injury/Western Circuit

    ‘Richard is a determined advocate who is always thorough and well-prepared. He leaves no stone unturned when investigating complicated quantum issues. You know if he is fighting a case to trial he believes in it.’

    Legal 500 2022/Personal Injury/South Eastern Circuit

    ‘Richard is tenacious and works hard in preparation and in action for his clients. His advice is clear, concise and tactical reflecting a keen analytical mind, and his advocacy is both engaging and persuasive. He understand the pressures affecting the client and he is able to address their concerns sympathetically.’

    Legal 500 2022/Personal Injury/Western Circuit

     

    What Treasury Counsel Panel referees say:

    “He’s great – advices are clear and concise, skeletons are accurate and tactical.”

    “his advocacy was both engaging and persuasive”

    “I instruct Richard in complex matters … his analytical skills are always an asset and he always adds to the case.”

    “He has a keen analytical mind.”

    “great knowledge of the issues and pressures affecting the client”

    “I have always found his advice to be practical, thorough and clear.”

    “clear, fluent and efficient in handling the complex issues in the case”

    “Richard is excellent – nice relaxed style, makes him compelling in conference as well as in trial. He’s very good at explaining even complex issues.”

    “personable and easy to talk to quite often we will just talk out any issues over the phone which is really helpful.”

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