Vijay Ganapathy

Vijay studied law at King's College London and is trained as both a barrister and solicitor.  He undertook his solicitor training at Hodge Jones & Allen and joined Leigh Day in February 2007. He focuses on industrial disease claims, mainly asbestos disease cases on behalf of those diagnosed with mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases as well as other complex injury claims including those involving public accidents and child injury.

He is very committed to his clients and supports various charities and support groups.  He also lectures and gives talks regularly.  Recently, he provided training to respiratory doctors at North Middlesex and Imperial College Hospitals.   He has also given talks for Cancer Research UK and hospices.  Previously, he was invited to speak to graduates at different universities and has taken part in various debates in Parliament.  He sits on the asbestos sub-committee at Parliament.    

Vijay is knowledgeable on the current state of the law and has written for various legal journals from quite an early stage in his career.  He has been writing quarterly personal injury updates for the Solicitors Journal since 2007 and following their temporary closure, he now writes these updates for the New Law Journal.

He is accredited as a Senior Litigator of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) as well as being one of the few lawyers holding specialist accreditation for Occupational Disease and Asbestos Disease claims. Vijay is also appointed by APIL to act as an assessor for other solicitors seeking similar accreditation. He was previously awarded the title of Lawyer of the Year in the field of Industrial Disease by Corporate LiveWire magazine.

What people say

His clients have commented on his ‘professional calm and kind manner’ and a senior barrister recently stated, ‘Vijay’s experience speaks for itself as a reason for other specialists in the field to defer to him.’

Legal expertise

Vijay acts for clients both here and overseas and has carved out a reputation of achieving success in difficult cases. He is best known for having successfully represented Mr Chandler in the landmark case of Chandler v Cape plc [2012] EWCA 525 CA which set a new legal precedent both in tort and company law because it was the first case of its kind to hold a parent/group company liable for one of its subsidiary company’s operations.  

Vijay Ganapathy in the news

New Law Journal articles

• Personal injury update New Law Journal 22.9.23 Vijay Ganapathy & Catriona Ratcliffe discuss recent developments in vicarious liability, proving breach of duty in historical industrial disease cases, & limitation in fatal claims.
• Personal injury lessons from 2022 NLJ 9.12.22. The top personal injury cases of 2022 are outlined by Leigh Day partner Vijay Ganapathy, in this week’s NLJ. 
• Personal injury in the spotlight NLJ 28.1.22. Vijay Ganapathy & Walker Syachalinga examine some key issues raised in the latest rulings on personal injury
• Tort: a new landscape? NLJ 6.8.21. Vijay Ganapathy considers the future significance of recent cases in tort on foreseeability, quantum & withdrawal of Part 36 offers
• Keeping it in the family: Vijay Ganapathy & Claire Spearpoint discuss the role family members can play in legal proceedings involving their relatives 31 October 2019
• The search for clarity in complex claims: Vijay Ganapathy provides an update on Brexit’s shadow on the future for uninsured & untraced drivers & revisits the painful repercussions of a Christmas party 8 August 2019
• Getting it right by playing by the rules: Vijay Ganapathy provides an update on the importance of procedure and practice in and out of court 14 March 2019
• Problems on an industrial scale: Vijay Ganapathy considers how courts are tackling the issues associated with the treatment & costs of industrial diseases 6 December 2018
• Expanding the boundaries of vicarious liability: Vijay Ganapathy rounds up some critical cases on vicarious liability, damages for fear, independent contractors & causation 20 September 2018.