Suzanne White
Partner
Suzanne White is head of the medical negligence team and has specialised in this area of law since qualifying in 1999.
Suzanne is a passionate women’s rights in healthcare campaigner, with a particular interest in maternal health, birth injury, and injuries to mothers during childbirth. She also specialises in brain injury cases, orthopaedics, misdiagnosed cancers, GP errors, children and adult fatal cases, and cases involving radiological errors, but advises on a full range of medical negligence cases.
She has successfully secured substantial amounts of compensation for people who have suffered serious injuries a result of medical negligence and also represents families at inquests where loved ones have died as a result of negligent medical care.
Suzanne has a medical background having initially trained as a radiographer. She is a member of the APIL executive, a trustee of the Patients Association, a member of the INQUEST Lawyers Group, and a council member of MASIC. She worked with Birthrights on the Inquiry into racial injustice
Suzanne is an accredited expert on the Law Society clinical negligence panel. She is also accredited and an accredited member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.
At the 2024 Birth Trauma Inquiry, she was the only lawyer invited to give evidence to the Inquiry.
She acted for the families at the Article 2 inquest of Laura Jane Seaman who died from contributed to by neglect. Laura Jane was a mother of five who tragically died after giving birth leaving five children.
Suzanne works with and supports many charities
MASIC
Babylifeline
The Motherhood Group
Birthrights
Make Birth Better
Birth Trauma Association
Twins rust
Group B Strep Support
HIE Peeps
What people say
"It is clear to me that you really committed yourselves to our daughter’s case. You prepared a really strong case for her, 100% ready to win in court if that became necessary. Words cannot express the depth of gratitude and respect that I have for you both, in respect of what you have done for our daughter of course, but also for myself, my partner and each of our other children who have all suffered a significantly “changed life” since that fateful day. You have enabled us all to move forward."
"We are all still hurting but you have made life much easier and given me a fighting chance. Myself and my family will never forget what you have done for us."
"I cannot thank you and the rest of your team enough for the amazing, smooth work you did for us. And I hope that should any parent have to go through the same ordeal as us, that they come to you for assistance as you were so helpful, pleasant to deal with, especially under the circumstances."
“Without the compassion and professionalism of Suzanne and the rest of the team, we know this process would have been even harder. We’re doubtful that we would have ever found the truth surrounding Thor’s death, and the subsequent failures by the Trust, without them. We will always be grateful.”
"We cannot thank you enough for your kindness and compassion, and most of all, for wanting to fight on behalf of our little boy to ensure that the unit is a safe place in the future."
"Now we have a peace of mind and are able to live, and we owe it all to Suzanne and her team, because without them we would not have won, and we would not have justice for our son. We will always be eternally grateful."
"Please keep up the good work as although the stock phrase of 'lessons will be learnt', unfortunately then do not seem to be. Thank you once again, your firm and what you do is an inspiration to me."
"You and your whole team were a pleasure to deal with. A flawless experience for us, especially when you think of the sensitivity of the matter. Thank you!"
What the directories say
She is an incredible person, so committed to the job and commercial responsibilities. A delightful person to work with - she's very politically aware, very good with clients and has real vision.
Chambers and partners 2024
Legal expertise
- Settling a claim against a GP for a six-figure sum after a woman was prescribed Nitrofurantoin, an antibiotic for treatment of bacterial infections, for eight times longer than recommended, resulting in lung damage.
- Securing more than £30 million in compensation for a child who suffered near-total deprivation of oxygen at his birth which will help to provide lifelong care.
- Securing a settlement of over £21 million from a NHS Health Trust for a child who sustained a serious brain injury at birth at due to negligent treatment by medical professionals.
- Settling a case for a girl who received a five-figure settlement following late diagnosis of Grisel’s syndrome, a dislocation of a joint in the neck caused by adjacent tissue inflammation, which required spinal fusion surgery.
- Obtaining a seven figure sum on compensation for a 12 year old girl with cerebral palsy.
- Acting for a child with a brain injury caused by medical negligence, and securing compensation in the region of £8m.
- Securing a significant and substantial sum of compensation for a child who has cerebral palsy after being deprived of oxygen during a mismanaged labour.
- Winning compensation for a young mother who, after her baby died, developed sepsis losing digits, toes and being left with renal failure after a delay in diagnosis.
- Acting for Rolf Dalhaug whose son Thor died in 2013 at Lincoln County Hospital due to preventable events. Thor died from a fatal brain injury an hour after he was born because of errors made by medical staff. Read Thor's story.
- Obtaining a seven-figure sum of compensation for a woman following the failure by two NHS trusts to diagnose a stroke.
- Securing a seven-figure sum for a woman following a failure to detect and treat a post-operative bile leak
- Settling a claim for a young man who suffered brain damage when bacterial endocarditis led to him suffering a stroke was left undiagnosed for five months.
- Winning an award of £1.5m for a client whose slow-growing brain tumour was missed leading to her eventual severe loss of sight.
- Representing the family of Fallan Kurek at the inquest into her death after taking the combined contraceptive pill.
- Acting for a young woman who was left unable to have children following a surgical procedure, the consequences of which were not properly explained to her.
- Securing a six-figure sum on behalf of a client who suffered extreme radiation burns and a perforated bowel after receiving the wrong dose of radiation.
- Obtaining a significant award of damages for the partner of a young man who died when his diabetic ketoacidosis was misdiagnosed by his GP.
- Securing compensation for a mother whose baby died when the baby’s CTG scan was misinterpreted leading to a fatal delay in a caesarean delivery.
- Representing the family of Laura-Jane Seaman whose death was contributed to by neglect
- Representing the families of two premature babies who died in the NICU after being given the wrong drug, resulting in a ruling of unlawful killing
Suzanne in the news and media
Suzanne has appeared on the national news, including ITN News, commenting on developments relating to the medical profession, and has been quoted in many articles.
- Mother who died from internal haemorrhage after giving birth at a hospital where staff misdiagnosed her as being dehydrated and gave her a biscuit Daily Mail 14.8.24
- Inquest into the death of mother-of-five concludes her death was avoidable ITV 13.8.24
- NHS trust under investigation accused of hypocritical email to staff Guardian 3.12.23
- Suzanne appeared on Tonight with Andrew Marr LBC 10.7.23
- NHS spends £2.7 BILLION settling medical negligence claims in one year with 41% of the bill coming from maternity care failings, reports say Mail online 25.7.23
- Top 10 London Firms Making Waves in Clinical Negligence Claimant Cases Business Today 10.7.23
- Revealed: The specialties with rocketing litigation costs Health Service Journal 23.6.23
- Hospital’s ‘secret’ test missed our baby’s fatal syndrome Sunday Times 22.5.22
- Battle fatigue Law Society Gazette 26.7.21
- Inquest into death of Evan Nathan Smith at North Middlesex Hospital East London Gazette 7.4.21
- Mary Agyapong inquest: Public Covid inquiry needed as soon as ‘practicable’, coroner says Independent 30.3.21
- Coroner calls on PM to hold inquiry after saying it is 'unclear' when nurse who died with COVID caught it Sky News 30.3.21
- Mothers-to-be must be allowed to work from home says NHS nurse Mary Agyapong's widower following her death from Covid after she worked in hospital until she was 32 weeks into pregnancy Mail online 5.11.20
- Family wins £37m in one of the largest maternity negligence claims in NHS history Independent 20.7.20
- Parents whose baby was left severely brain damaged after blunders by staff on NHS maternity ward are to get £37million payout Daily Mail 20.7.20
- NHS faces billions in coronavirus claims Times 23.4.20
- Menopause in the News Newson Health October 2019
- Discount rate decision casts a shadow over personal injury settlements Post Magazine 5.8.19
- NHS trusts will be forced to publish concerns raised by staff and patients in wake of Gosport scandal Telegraph 21.11.18
- Mum, 35, who expected to be home in time for tea dies after routine hospital test goes tragically wrong Mirror 19.8.18, The Sun 19.8.18, and Mail on Sunday 18.8.18.
What the directories say
Suzanne White heads the department and fights like a tiger for her clients, whilst simultaneously managing their expectations carefully. She is a superb solicitor.
Legal 500 2024
News and blogs
Coroner raises concerns over family’s eight-minute wait for answer to 999 call at inquest into the death of three-day-old baby Wyllow-Raine Swinburn
The coroner at an inquest into the death of three-day-old Wyllow-Raine Swinburn has raised concerns to South Central Ambulance Service after the baby’s family spent eight minutes waiting for an answer to their 999 call and more than 30 minutes waiting for an ambulance to arrive.
Death of Laura-Jane Seaman avoidable and contributed to by neglect, coroner concludes
The inquest into the death of a mother-of-five, who begged medical staff not to let her die, has concluded that her death was avoidable and contributed to by neglect. The coroner also accepted that Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights, the right to life, was engaged because of the role of the state in her death.