Experience
- I am head of BLM's product recall and liability practice group.
- I have drafted numerous recall and contamination policies and regularly advise domestic and international insurers on recall policy validity and coverage issues arising from major product incidents.
- I have extensive experience of food recall issues and have advised insurers on claims involving all contamination/recall policy event triggers used in the market, including accidental contamination, government recall, adverse publicity, malicious tampering and extortion.
- I regularly advise on automotive recall losses, liabilities and recoveries arising from alleged defects in engines, steering and other systems and components.
- My experience also includes recall claims involving a wide variety of other products, including pharmaceuticals, toys, cosmetics, and industrial machinery.
- I have extensive experience of UK and international product liability issues, including policy coverage, defence, and recovery actions.
- I am consulting editor of, and contributor to, the comparative legal text Product Recall, Liability and Insurance: a Global Guide (Globe, 2012), and regularly provide training to the product recall and liability insurance markets.
My experience includes advising on insurance coverage and related issues and negotiating settlements in the following circumstances:
- Listeria in food production facility, product recall, voluntary shutdown (USA)
- Automotive component defect recall and related warranty litigation (Germany)
- Major confectionery recall due to suspected Salmonella (UK/Europe)
- Recall of defective toys (global)
- Recall of unstable pharmaceuticals (USA)
- Campaign to address alleged defects in industrial lifting equipment (international)
- Accumulated automotive component warranty issues (North America)
- Suspected unauthorised interference with pharmaceuticals (Australasia)
- Multiple unrelated fruit product withdrawals due to alleged microbial issues (South America, Australia)
- Major food product loss due to issues including alleged foreign matter in new production line (New Zealand)
- The North American "cumin recalls" arising from undeclared allergens
- The European "horsemeat scandal".
Membership/appointments
I am the consulting editor of, and contributor to, the textbook “Product Recall, Liability and Insurance – a Global Guide” (2012).
I have worked on secondment to a Lloyd’s syndicate, and am a member of BILA (British Insurance Law Association).
