Elizabeth Thomas

Elizabeth is named as a ‘key lawyer’ in the 2022 Legal 500 with the quote: “You can guarantee a good outcome if Elizabeth Thomas is on a case.”

Elizabeth is in the main a litigator with broad experience of advising NHS trusts, NHS Resolution and MDOs on complex and high value clinical negligence matters. She is the firm’s lead for assisting trusts and NHS Resolution in the early notification scheme initiative and had a key role in setting up the firm’s COVID-19 portal in response to the recent pandemic.

Elizabeth was instrumental in Hempsons sponsoring the University of Cambridge law faculty’s ‘Law, Medicine and Life Sciences Prize’ which was mentioned in Hempsons’ entry in The Times Best Law Firms 2022.

Aside from litigation, Elizabeth works with individual healthcare professionals, students, royal colleges and regulators in advisory matters.

While being part of the London office, Elizabeth has worked remotely since 2014 gaining experience that has been called upon in the COVID-19 pandemic. She is based in the Channel Islands.

Elizabeth has an academic background in healthcare ethics having studied it at Yale University, during her masters degree at Manchester University and during her undergraduate degree at Cambridge University. She is an active member of Guernsey’s Princess Elizabeth Hospital ethics committee and was a trustee of the UK Clinical Ethics Network for four years (2018-2022).

Elizabeth’s undergraduate degree in natural sciences (Pembroke College) Cambridge enables her to get to grips with the science of healthcare claims and to relate to the professionals she advises and supports.

Elizabeth is married to a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist and has two sons.

Main areas of expertise

• healthcare litigation
• healthcare advisory
• healthcare ethics

Clients

• NHS trusts
• NHS Resolution
• medical defence organisations
• medical students
• Royal colleges

Publications and podcasts

‘Telemedicine – clinical negligence considerations’, Health Service Journal, June 2020

Podcast: Top tips to improve your remote working life

‘The (Not So) Lonely Litigator’s Club’, Civil Litigation Brief

Medicolegal Issues in Obstetrics and Gynaecology’, Springer; 1st ed. 2018 edition (29 Jun. 2018), Chp. ‘Consent after Montgomery: Legal Considerations’ Thomas E., Leigh B.

‘The Clinical Disputes Forum code to candour’; Thomas E., Leigh B., ‘Clinical Risk’ January/March 2014 vol.20 no 1-2, 11-15

‘An anesthetic duty of candour’; Stevens J., Thomas E., Leigh B., ‘The Society for Ethics and Law in Medicine’, July 2014 22-24

Qualifications

• LLM Manchester, part time, healthcare ethics and law 2013
• Yale University, CT, diploma in medical ethics 2010
• BPP, LPC 2009
• BPP, GDL 2007
• Cambridge University, Pembroke College, natural sciences 2:1 2005