Samantha Whitehead

Samantha is an Associate Solicitor in the Casualty team based in Leeds. She joined Markel in September 2022, having commenced her legal career for a leading national law firm in 2009. She is cross qualified, having been a Fellow of CILeX before qualifying as a Solicitor in 2019.

Samantha has specialised in Defendant personal injury civil litigation for over 10 years, working with various commercial and public sector clients including most major insurers, local authorities, the military and the police. Samantha works hard with organisations and businesses to gather and review documentary evidence to support any potential Defence. She is adept at identifying the key legal issues quickly, and ensuring her clients receive clear and accurate advice at the earliest possible stage. Samantha’s friendly and engaging manner has enabled her to build strong relationships with her clients such that she is for many their solicitor of choice. Samantha drafts her own pleadings, conducts her own advocacy and has considerable experience of successfully defending claims at trial.

She has developed and delivered training to clients on issues such as CPR Updates and Employers Liability, along with conducting case surgeries on a regular basis.

Social Care

Samantha specialises in employer’s and public liability social care claims from violent assaults, and claims involving allegations of neglect and inadequate care, to manual handling claims and slips and trips. She has a deep understanding of the complex and sensitive nature of claims within the social care setting. Samantha regularly successfully defends claims at trial, largely owing to her innate ability to distinguish between causative and non-causative breaches of duty.

Construction

Samantha regularly acts for clients within the construction industry, including construction site claims that often involve multiple parties. She has experience of acting for principle contractors and their sub-contractors and is equally at ease in considering issues of common law as well as contractual breaches and indemnities. She appreciates that it is essential to determine both common law and contractual issues at an early stage, so that those claims that ought to be settled on a commercial basis can be quickly distinguished from those that warrant a robust defence.

General Injury Litigation

Samantha has vast experience of all manner of employer’s liability and public liability claims, including highway claims, road traffic and fraud, housing disrepair and occupiers liability claims, matters involving defective equipment, manual handling, slips and trips, bullying, chronic pain, and NIHL claims.