Based at Thompsons Solicitors’ Manchester office, Sarah Gardner is a highly qualified solicitor with a long success record in dealing with personal injury cases involving foreign jurisdictions.
Sarah has a personal caseload of high value, complex claims and is also responsible for supervising the work of other lawyers at Thompsons. One of her high profile cases involves group action claims arising out of the terrorist attack in 2015 in Tunisia.
Sarah has dealt with a wide range of compensation claims, often involving more than one defendant. The cases involve package travel, flights and cruises, and accidents while working abroad or on oil rigs.
She deals with road accidents abroad or accidents in the UK involving a foreign defendant and also takes cases where compensation claims involving foreign-made products.
Sarah enjoys a considerable reputation for her expertise in shipping law and for an understanding of the legal procedures required to make successful claims.
Sarah has built up an array of useful contacts abroad including agents, lawyers and specialist barristers. She also has access to a wide range of medical specialists who help to elicit the highest possible compensation.
Attention to detail is one of Sarah’s keys attributes and an ability to use plain language to explain complex legal points in the regular updates she gives her clients.
Thompsons enjoys a high reputation in the legal profession for the training it gives its staff, an attribute particularly valued by Sarah. She says clients will always be given the most up-to-date advice by a highly trained lawyer with specialist knowledge. Sarah also points out that Thompsons never work for those who might be responsible for injury or their insurance companies. “I enjoy only working for injured people and those that need help the most,” she says.
Away from work Sarah has a passion for music and attending gigs and festivals. Sarah enjoys yoga, pilates and country walks. She is also a football fan with a season ticket at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Sarah’s case experience
Work accident claim: A 68-year-old storage fitter working on a site in the Netherlands was forced to stop working ahead of his retirement after slipping in a pool of water. The man was unable to see the hazard because of poor lighting and fell sustaining serious damage to his left shoulder. Following an X-ray in the Netherlands he was flown back to Britain where he underwent more treatment. Sarah secured compensation for the client.
Work accident claim: Another case taken by Sarah was that of a film production worker who had an accident in Hungary on the set of the Zombie disaster movie World War Z. The stage hand suffered a complicated injury to his hip when he fell through a hole. Sarah secured a £60,000 settlement from the film production company which admitted liability.
Public liability claim: Another client slipped on a wet floor as she entered a bar on holiday in Mexico, fracturing her foot. Management only placed a warning sign about the slippery floor after the accident. The client received £7,500 in damages.
Professional memberships
Sarah is a member of the North West Travel Law forum, the Pan European Organisation of Personal Injury Lawyers and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).
Testimonials
A client, who received £45,000 in compensation, said: “I wish to thank you for all the hard work and long hours you have put in to my case and securing the compensation for my family and myself.
“My wife's best friend is a solicitor so I am aware of the constant workload your company expects you to get through every day of each week, cannot be easy. What I am trying to say is sorry for being so demanding of you, when time is something you have not got.”
Another client said: “My claim was a lengthy one and at times very frustrating, I hope my solicitor who dealt with my case won't mind me saying, was superb, professional and friendly throughout the whole time, every time areas needed addressing Sarah Gardner was amaz-ing, nothing was too much trouble and a fantastic professional person too, cannot express my gratitude for the way the case was handled by Sarah and her team, A massive thank you to Sarah and Thompsons.”