CEO & Head of Medical Negligence Department
Nickf@fairweather-solicitors.co.uk
Call: 01227 784337
Nick Fairweather
In brief
I founded the firm in April 2006 and became its CEO when we converted to an LLP in April 2011. I have a long established reputation as a Medical Negligence Solicitor often acting in high profile cases including group actions.
In the past
I studied law at Bristol Polytechnic, trained in Maidstone and qualified in December 1991. Soon after I joined Harman & Harman in Canterbury, where I was Managing Partner and headed their Medical Negligence Department before leaving to start my own firm.
My work at Harmans included the Kent and Canterbury Hospital cervical smear misreporting claims in which we successfully represented over 100 women in the County Court, High Court and Court of Appeal.
In Public
I regularly appear on local television and radio both in discussing my cases and as an expert on Medical Negligence and other legal matters.
Our cases often attract national media attention in publications such as Private Eye and the Sunday Times.
I was Chairman of the multi award winning Law Clinic at Kent University between 1992 and 2018.
I have presented talks in the past on legal and medico – legal issues to both legal and medical audiences.
I am Deputy Vice President of Kent Law Society.
In Work
My work is exclusively medical negligence based, covering the broad spectrum of errors in clinical practice. I frequently deal with maximum severity claims. In July 2016, I settled an out of hours GP meningitis claim for a capitalised value of £15m which is believed to be the highest award ever made for a case of this kind.
I have a particular interest and expertise in dealing with fatal injuries arising from medical malpractice and representing clients at Inquests.
Industry Associations
I have been a Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel Member since 1999.
In my spare time
I am married with 3 grown up children. I enjoy family holidays, spending time with friends and watching Chelsea (I am a season ticket holder). I also play table tennis for Whitstable and enjoy the cinema.
Favourite things
- Film: Withnail and I (their flat reminds me of mine as a student!)
- Album: All Mod Cons (The Jam)
- Place in the World: Sydney, Australia
- Place in England: Broadstairs, Kent
- Food: Fish and chips (on the sea front at Broadstairs!)
News about Nick Fairweather and his cases
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15th April 2026 – Our client, a woman from Herne Bay, then aged 27, found out that she was pregnant with twins in January 2020.
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2nd February 2026 – Our client, a 32-year-old woman from Folkestone and first-time expectant mum, attended the William Harvey Hospital Ashford, Kent twice in the late stages of her pregnancy concerned about the wellbeing of her unborn child.
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5th September 2025 – We are pleased to report that Nick Fairweather has today had his Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel membership renewed for another 3 years.
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19th June 2025 – Bear Knight was born prematurely, by C – Section, on 17.08.23, at 30 weeks + 4 days.
His condition was satisfactory at birth but because of his prematurity he was transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the William Harvey Hospital Ashford, variously supported and treated there.
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25th November 2024 – Our client, a young woman, attended Hamstreet Dental Clinic, near Ashford, Kent, on 18.03.2022, for an appointment with a locum dentist Dr Neda Hussaini.
During a routine dental procedure, something fell to the back of our client’s throat.
Both the dentist and the dental nurse immediately forced her into an upright position. She started to choke and she was patted on the back and encouraged to cough.
Dr Hussaini then claimed that the offending item was a fraction of a tooth filling and that it had been swallowed safely and would pass through the digestive system without any problem.
However, later that day, our client received a phone call from the Clinic receptionist who disclosed that she had in fact swallowed a fitting bit for the dental drill.
Our client was taken to the William Harvey Hospital A&E department at around 4.15pm.
There, an x-ray demonstrated that the drill bit had been aspirated into her lung. The doctors were concerned about the position of the bit and said that they required an expert opinion.
At 8pm it was confirmed the drill head was in the lower right lung.
Our client was kept in an observation room and advised to keep still due to the risk of rupturing her lung. She was told that the hospital were taking advice from St Bart’s Hospital London and preparing for her to be transferred there for a complex operation.
She was taken for a final pre transfer CT scan at around 9.40pm to identify a path for the surgeon to reach the drill in the lung.
At around 11.30pm she was shown a text from St Bart’s Hospital regarding potential complications of the surgery including a risk of pneumothorax due to the drill bit possibly puncturing the lung. She was told to remain nil by mouth.
She started to develop a heavy wheeze and her condition worsened at around 1am. At 1.45am, whilst waiting in A&E for her transfer to St Bart’s Hospital, she started to turn pale, had breathing difficulties and experienced a foul taste in her mouth. She fell into a violent coughing fit during which the drill piece was brought up and landed in her handShe was kept in hospital for further observations and was advised to remain still as she was at risk of internal bleeding.
At 7.45am she was discharged home. She was advised to refrain from movement, not to exercise and to return to hospital immediately if she had any bleeding.
Although our client recovered physically, it was a horrifying ordeal and she suffered nightmares, flashbacks and intrusive thoughts about the incident.She instructed Fairweather Solicitors LLP to pursue the dentist for negligence.
We commenced investigations and once expert evidence was available began a case against the Defendant dentist.
Psychiatric evidence commissioned indicated that our client had been caused by PTSD by what she had experienced.
Incredibly, the Defendant did not accept any responsibility for the accident but £3,000.00 was offered to conclude the action.
This was rejected and a counter offer of £20,000.00 made.
This was rejected by the Defendant but a final position was reached between the parties to settle the case at £18,000.00.
Fairweathers’ Solicitor Graham Balmforth who took over the case and concluded it commented:- “This is a case that demonstrates well the dangers of choking and aspiration injuries in dental work. Many of these claims have been brought under control in the last 5 years by the increasing use of “rubber damns” in the oral cavity which block particles from being swallowed or breathed in. It is regrettable that their use is not yet mandatory. In this case, it may well have prevented a genuinely distressing incident that resulted in a terrifying hospital admission and a consequential psychological injury”
Whilst the injury here was primarily psychological there is no doubting that the outcome could have been very different.
With the client’s permission, Graham has contacted the Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP) asking them to consider the mandatory use of rubber damns together with mandatory record keeping regarding hand piece purchase, maintenance and disposal for optimal safe practices.
If you or your family need the assistance of our experienced specialist team of Clinical Negligence Solicitors then please submit your case details for our consideration.