Nicola Saunders is a Member (Partner) at Thompsons Solicitors and leads the Serious Injury team in London. She is a highly experienced catastrophic injury lawyer with more than two decades of experience acting for adults and children who have sustained life-changing injuries. Her practice encompasses the most complex and high-value personal injury claims, alongside significant clinical negligence litigation.
Nicola joined Thompsons Solicitors in 2013 and was appointed Partner in 2022. She combines the management of her own complex and high-value caseload with senior leadership and oversight of the firm's Serious Injury work in London.
Nicola has particular expertise in catastrophic injury cases including brain and neurological injury, spinal cord injury, amputation and complex orthopaedic trauma, as well as catastrophic clinical negligence claims involving cerebral palsy, birth injury, hypoglycaemia, delayed diagnosis and profound permanent disability. Her cases frequently involve contested liability, complex medical and expert evidence, capacity issues, substantial rehabilitation needs and significant future care and support requirements.
A central feature of Nicola's practice is securing significant interim payments at the earliest possible opportunity, enabling rehabilitation and support to be put in place while litigation is ongoing. She works proactively with case managers, rehabilitation professionals and experts to ensure her clients have access to the best available rehabilitation, treatment, specialist equipment and suitable accommodation, with the aim of maximising recovery, independence and long-term quality of life. Her track record includes cases in which substantial rehabilitation packages and accommodation have been secured through interim funding during the course of the litigation.
Nicola combines this rehabilitation-focused approach with rigorous and determined litigation. She recognises that, particularly following catastrophic injury, achieving the right outcome is about more than the final settlement. It is also about ensuring that clients and their families have access to the funding, expertise and practical support they need throughout the life of the claim.
She is known for providing clear, compassionate and practical advice, supporting clients and their families through the legal process while maintaining a firm strategic focus on achieving the best possible outcome. This approach is reflected in independent commentary recognising both her technical expertise and the confidence she inspires in her clients.
Nicola's track record includes securing the highest-ever damages settlement for two members of trade unions, alongside a number of eight-figure and multi-million-pound settlements in catastrophic personal injury and clinical negligence cases.
Independent recognition
Nicola's expertise has been recognised by both Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500.
Chambers & Partners 2027 describes Nicola as a “superb lawyer who knows the market inside out” and highlights her “really good grasp of medical issues” and ability to manage experts particularly well. Commentators also recognise the balance she brings between “technical excellence and a determination to maximise her client's recovery” and a friendly and open manner, alongside a sensitive approach to client needs which inspires complete confidence in her advice.
The Legal 500 describes Nicola as a “brilliant lawyer who really fights every inch for her clients”, noting that she is extremely attentive and responsive and manages complex clinical negligence claims at a high level. She is also recognised as “extremely capable and hardworking” and as knowing “exactly how to litigate complex and high value cases to a successful conclusion.”
Recent case experience
Nicola's recent work includes:
- Securing an eight-figure settlement in a complex wrongful birth clinical negligence claim.
- Securing an eight-figure settlement in a complex claim arising from the negligent management of a baby following delivery.
- Securing an eight-figure settlement for a child with a life-limiting and avoidable condition caused by clinical negligence.
- Securing a significant seven-figure settlement for a client with a spinal cord injury, alongside a fully funded rehabilitation package throughout and beyond the litigation.
- Securing damages exceeding £3 million following a below-knee amputation sustained in a road traffic accident, having secured early funding for extensive rehabilitation and suitable accommodation through interim payments.
- Securing damages exceeding £2 million following a workplace accident resulting in below-knee amputation, including a comprehensive rehabilitation package and provision for advanced prosthetics to support the client's return to competitive motocross.
- Securing damages exceeding £1 million for a client who sustained a brain injury after being struck by a car. Liability was robustly denied, but following determined litigation the claim settled on a 100% liability basis shortly before trial.
- Recovering damages exceeding £1 million for a client assaulted at work who sustained serious hand injuries and a complex psychiatric condition. Specialist inpatient psychiatric treatment was funded through interim payments, and damages were ultimately recovered in full despite liability being denied until close to trial.
- Securing damages exceeding £1 million following serious leg injuries sustained at work, together with a fully funded rehabilitation package throughout and beyond the litigation.
Professional membership
Nicola is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).