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editorial@barkerbrooks.co.uk March of the unions
PI specialist Morrish Solicitors enters into the first trade union-based ABS
members in a variety of industries, has collaborated with the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) to establish the world's first trade union-based ABS. The TSSA represents 30,000 administrative, managerial,
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professional and technical workers in the railway, London Underground, travel trade, ports and ferries and was previously one of Morrish's clients. Paul Scholey, senior partner at the firm, said that it had taken
12 months for the two parties to establish what they believe is the world’s first union-based ABS. "It brings us closer to one of our most significant clients, whilst
TSSA benefits from a direct financial relationship with a major service provider," said Scholey. He was quick to reassure the firm's other 20 trade union clients
that the new ABS had rigorous controls in place to ensure its independence and impartiality. "The SRA licensing process has been painstaking in its detail
to ensure that past, present and future clients’ positions are 100% safeguarded,” he said. Frank Ward, Assistant General Secretary of TSSA, said that after
a long and happy relationship with Morrish, helping the firm to become an ABS seemed like a natural step for the union. It would allow the union to supply legal services provision to its members that was both better integrated and free from any regulatory barriers that would have been created by the establishment of an in-house legal team.
14 /Claims Magazine/Issue 11
eeds firm Morrish Solicitors made history on 20 December after it converted to ABS status with the help of a trade union.
The firm, which carries out personal injury work for union The firm, which specialises in personal injury (PI) and
employment rights for trade union clients has been trading for over 100 years and employs 80 staff across Yorkshire. It moved into new headquarters offices in Leeds last September. Morrish recently showcased its PI expertise after helping a man
win a seven-figure compensation sum after staff at Bradford Royal Infirmary failed to deal with the development of an infection following a knee replacement, which led to him having his right leg amputated above the knee. The claimant first underwent a right knee replacement in
August 2005 after being told that he had advanced osteoarthritis. He then had a further operation in December 2006, but suffered complications following the procedure, which prevented him from carrying out everyday tasks, leading him to resign from his job as an HGV mechanic. In 2009 he underwent further surgery during which long-
standing infections were discovered. He was advised that there was nothing more that could be done and that an above knee amputation was the best possible course of action for him. During the course of the investigation into his case, Morrish
Solicitors found that a microbiology test result from a washout procedure in January 2007 had tested positive but the result had been filed with no action having been taken. A leading medical expert advised that had the hospital acted
on these results, the correct procedure would have been to reopen and clean the knee within one month of the operation in December 2006. Morrish found that there was a complete failure by Bradford Royal Infirmary to provide a reasonable standard of treatment. ●
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