A lawyer who is a long-standing campaigner for better patient safety has been appointed to a top role with a national legal campaign organisation.
Specialist catastrophic injury lawyer Suzanne Trask, who deals with cases including when patients have suffered life changing injuries due to negligent medical treatment, is now vice president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).
“For more than 20 years now I’ve specialised in medical negligence and serious injury cases, including working with people who have suffered devastating brain injuries as a result of medical negligence.
“The priority for the NHS has to be to improve patient safety by learning lessons when negligent care occurs, and ensuring good practice is shared to avoid needlessly harming more people,” she added.
Compensation is crucial to help victims recover and rebuild their lives. Sadly, successive governments have introduced policies that have eroded people’s access to justice and the principle of 100 per cent compensation. I joined APIL in the early years of my career because the organisation fights for injured people’s rights, which I’m very passionate about.
“I’m honoured to be vice president and will support APIL’s work to lobby policymakers to always put injured people first and to not see them as some kind of burden. No-one expects or asks to be seriously injured, and the reality is it could happen to any of us.
Suzanne, originally from Staffordshire, was injured herself while working in her first legal job in London in 2003. She was heading home on a bus when a vandal launched a brick through the window of the bus, smashing the window and hitting her head.
“I was very fortunate, but it did give me appreciation of what it can feel like to be in such a vulnerable position,” she said.
Suzanne is a senior freelance consultant solicitor, working for clients at Setfords and Legal Studio Solicitors.
She is also a long standing trustee of The Silverlining Brain Injury Charity, which supports thousands of people who have suffered brain injuries, and their families.