Head of Specialist Claims, Hugh James, Cardiff and London
Mark Harvey is the partner in charge of the specialist claims group at Hugh James in Cardiff and London, where he heads up that office.
He has obtained compensation for many individual victims of common but defective consumer products as well as those of accidents overseas and arising out of travel, sport and leisure generally.
Harmful Product claims
He was the Lead Solicitor in the PIP Breast Implant group action in the High Court in London which resulted in thousands of women being compensated as well as securing significant compensation for many victims of the so-called metal on metal hip prostheses. He and his team of specialist lawyers are investigating claims arising out of NexGen knees, vaginal mesh as well as intraocular lenses fitted by Optical Express and Optegra and textured breast implants. Mark has obtained compensation for patients with defective pacemakers, a fatality arising out of a defective heart valve replacement and many household products.
Overseas claims
Notable successes have included obtaining substantial damages from companies in three different countries for foreign workers killed and injured in an explosion at sea as well as the family of a foreign national killed in an air display accident. As well as very substantial damages for British and foreign nationals in employer and product liability litigation including a helicopter air accident, African safari accidents as well as a French diver from an incident off the African coast. He led a successful group action in the French high Court for over a thousand British breast implant victims.
Experience and qualifications
He is one of only 13 (and the only one in Wales) Senior Fellows of APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) for whom he was appointed an accredited Accidents and Illnesses Abroad Specialist Assessor. He is immediate past senior UK Governor of the American Association for Justice and past-chair of its International Practice Section. He is Wales’ first and only member of the Pan-European Organisation of Personal Injury Law (PEOPIL) where he is the chair of the Pharmaceutical, Product Liability and Mass Tort Exchange Group for European.
A published author for Jordans of the first and second editions of the APIL Guide to Conditional Fees, and co-editor of the APIL Guide to Costs and Funding he also contributes the chapters on Product Liability and Group Actions to their Personal Injury looseleaf. He is a member of the editorial boards of Thomson Sweet and Maxwell’s the Journal of Personal Injury Law and Kemp and Kemp on Quantum. He has lectured extensively around Britain, mainland Europe and the US on personal injury matters. He broadcasts regularly on television and radio.
He has been described as a "Leader in Personal injury and Product Liability" in Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 for 1999-2025 as well as being entered into the Hall of Fame in the Legal 500