Karen Rea

The Clinical Negligence work that Karen has undertaken encompassed all areas of malpractice within the medical/nursing and other paramedical disciplines (see reported cases below). This included cerebral palsy cases and adult brain damage cases as well as neurology, orthopaedic, ophthalmology, gynaecology, paediatrics, general surgery, dentistry and General Practice cases.

Karen has acted in all the fori, including The House of Lords, The Court of Appeal, The High Court, The Crown Court, The County Court and the Coroner’s Court and in the first 10 years of Call, when she also practised in Crime, Immigration and Employment Law, appearing in the Industrial Tribunal, The Immigration Tribunal, The Employment Appeal Tribunal and, in the very early days, The Magistrates Courts.

Karen now specialises only in Regulatory Law, where her extensive experience as a Legal Assessor/Adviser and as a Chair, includes both the healthcare and financial sectors, as seen below.

In October 2021, Karen had the honour of being invited by the Master of The Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos, to join the Civil Justice Council’s Futures Group under the Chair of Professor Richard Susskind OBE.

Judicial appointments and dates of appointment:

• 1999 – 2024 (retired) – Deputy District Judge
• 2002 – 2008  – Family Health Services Appeal Authority (FHSAA) – Legal Chair
• 2008 – 2019 (retired) – PHL/Health, Education and Social Care Fee paid Tribunal Judge
• 2002 – 2005  – GMC – Legal Assessor
• 2003 – present day – Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) – Legal Assessor
• 2004 – 2008 – Mediator in Time Limited Small Claim and Fast Track cases
• 2005 – 2009 – Legal Assessor to The General Social Care Council (England)
• 2005 – present day – Legal Adviser to the General Dental Council (GDC)
• 2006 – present day – Legal Assessor to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
• 2006 – 2014  Legal Assessor to the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC)
• 2006  – 2012 – Legal Assessor to The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
• 2006 – 2015 – Mediator/Arbitrator to Sports Resolution
• 2006 – present day Legal Assessor to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)
• 2006 – 2013 – Legal Chair to the FHSAA Pharmacy Appeals
• 2006 – 2013 – Legal Chair to the FHSAU Pharmacy Location Appeals
• 2007 –  present day – Legal Chair to the Doctors and Dentists Appeal Panel (DDAP)
• 2008  –  2017 – Assistant Coroner for Plymouth and South Devon
• 2009 – 2011 – Chair of the Investigating Committee of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
• 2010 – 2011 – Vice Chair of the Appeals Committee of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
• 2011 –  2016 – Chair – CIMA
• 2016 – 2017 – Lay Panel Member Appeals’ Committee – CIMA
• 2023 – present day – The Taxation Disciplinary Board (TDB) – Legally Qualified Chair (LQC)

Notable cases

• Pereira v Keleman [1995] 1 FLR 428
• Donoghue v Blundell [1985] Current Law Year Book 1986 Para 2254
• Brown v Guy’s & Lewisham NHS Trust [1996] 8 Med LR 132
• Skelton v Lewisham & North Southwark Health Authority & anr [1997] Lloyds Rep Med 324
• D. Brown v Lewisham & North Southwark Health Authority [1997] Lloyds Rep Med 265; [1999] Lloyds Rep Med 110, C.A.

“has an excellent knowledge of medicine and the law – highly recommended” – Legal 500

“is excellent on complex medical issues” – Legal 500