John Sharples

John joined Hempsons in 1998 after spending six years as a barrister in private practice, managing a general common law practice with an emphasis on commercial contract disputes. He offers a specialist advocacy service and advice in connection with a wide range of healthcare related issues.

John has extensive experience representing clients at inquests, including deaths in custody, deaths in circumstances of detention under the Mental Health Act, hospital deaths involving complex medical issues, particularly the deaths of infants, and deaths giving rise to the possibility of prosecution under health and safety legislation. He also has wide experience of inquests involving multiple parties and fully inquiry under Art 2 HRA.

John’s clinical negligence experience includes advising on liability and quantum and representing hospital trusts at interlocutory hearings, at JSM, at formal mediation, and at trial.

He has defended doctors at GMC fitness to practice hearings and undertaken prosecutions for NMC and GSCC. John represents NHS England in appeals involving the removal of practitioners from the performers’ list, and he represented a medical consultant as an intervenor in high court proceedings.

John’s regulatory experience includes representation of hospital trusts in relation to threatened and effective prosecutions under health and safety legislation, fire regulations and prosecutions brought by the Environment Agency. He also acts as an advocate in effective prosecutions under care standards legislation.

John advises and represents hospital trusts and private sector clients in commercial contract disputes.

Main areas of expertise

• inquests
• clinical negligence
• professional misconduct and disciplinary proceedings
• regulatory
• commercial

The clients he works with

• NHS bodies
• regulatory bodies
• individual practitioners
• private sector clients

Professional memberships

•  Inner Temple