Home / People / Helen Bell

Helen Bell

Call 2002

"A superb advocate who is thorough, tenacious and intelligent."

Chambers UK 2024
Contact Helen
+44 (0)20 7822 1200
vCard
Download CV
Save profile
Print

Expertise

Helen acts primarily for Defendants through major EL and PL insurer clients upon instruction from the leading solicitors in the field in relation to substantial PI claims. She has extensive experience of litigation involving public sector bodies having served as junior counsel to the Crown (C Panel).

Helen practises in all areas of personal injury law and is regularly instructed in cases involving complex issues of law, fact or expert evidence, including cases relating to liability towards and for a-typical workers and psychiatric injury sustained by secondary victims. She also specialises in high value claims involving chronic pain and allegations of fraud and malingering.

Helen has particular expertise and interest in claims at the interface between personal injury and employment law and so in claims for bullying and harassment including those brought pursuant to the Protection From Harassment Act 1997, occupational stress claims and claims for discrimination in the provision of services.

In relation to such claims, Helen is able to use her extensive experience of employment law (including experience of a-typical worker status and harassment and disability discrimination under the Equality Act) to her clients’ advantage. She has delivered seminars about and written extensively on the topic of managing the crossover between personal injury and employment law and is regularly instructed in cases involving issues relating to jurisdiction and strike out for abuse of process. She has most recently presented a seminar on evidence of change in the law of workplace harassment in the light of the #MeToo movement.

Notable Personal Injury cases

L v I

Acted for the defendant to a high profile and high value work related stress claim in which the claimant claimed damages for psychiatric injury. The claim arose out of the defendant’s handling a complaint in relation to the claimant’s investigation of allegations of misconduct in the course of his employment. It involved an overlapping, whistleblowing employment claim.

P v HPKL

Acted for the defendant employer to this claim following a fall from height in the course of the claimant’s employment as a cleaner. The claimant, who has a significant and pre-existing psychiatric history, alleges that she sustained a serious arm injury and developed a chronic pain condition. The defendant conversely contended that the accident exacerbated her long term somatic symptom disorder. The claim was settled shortly prior to trial following a successful joint settlement meeting.

J v T & S (ongoing)

Acting for the second defendant recruitment agency to this claim for damages for personal injury brought by a warehouse employee against it and his employer, the end user client. The material accident was alleged to have been caused by the negligence of an agency worker supplied by the agency to the Claimant’s employer on whose premises the accident occurred. Involves complex legal issues relating to vicarious liability for agency workers.

P v (1) MOJ (2) OHA (ongoing)

Acting for the second defendant to this claim for damages for psychiatric injury arising out of the claimant’s exposure to illegal drugs in the course of his employment by the first defendant. The claimant alleges that his condition was exacerbated by the second defendant occupational health provider’s handling of his case.

A v L (ongoing)

Acting for defendant sport governing body in respect of a claim for damages for psychiatric injury allegedly resulting from harassment under the Protection From Harassment Act 1997, negligence and discrimination on grounds of race. Obtained successful strike out of the personal injury aspect of the claim on grounds of causation.

Saunders v Care At Home

Acted for the defendant care provider in relation to this multi million pound brain injury case. The Claimant who had a pre-existing learning disability alleged that she sustained traumatic brain injury when a bariatric patient she was caring for fell on her.

Fitzgerald v London Borough of Southwark

Acted for the defendant local authority in relation to this claim for traumatic brain injury allegedly sustained by the claimant teaching assistant in the course of her employment at the defendant’s school.

Safdar v ABM Catering

Acted for the defendant to this high value claim arising out of an accident in the course claimant’s employment as a catering assistant in which the claimant alleged that she sustained an injury to her back leading to chronic pain syndrome.

S v T

Acted for the defendant major transport provider in this services discrimination claim. Claimant wheelchair user claimed damages for psychiatric injuries said to be caused by the defendant’s failure to make reasonable adjustments by providing better accessibility to its services and by defendant’s harassment on grounds of disability.

Parish v Allen & 2 Others

Acted for one of 3 defendants in this claim for damages for serious injury arising out of the collapse of lifting equipment during rehearsals at a theatre. Involved issues relating to the respective scope of duties owed by each party by reference to a complex contractual framework and consideration of expert evidence relating to the operation and failure of the lifting equipment in question.

Matyoramhinga v Quinn Infrastructure Service Limited

Acted for the successful defendant to a claim for damages for a serious head injury sustained after the claimant engineering contractor fell from height from a telegraph pole whilst undertaking a wired installation. Involved consideration of complex factual issues relating to the provision and operation of PPE.

Burnell v Howson

Acted for the defendant landlord to this claim for personal injury brought by a tenant and arising out of an accident at residential premises. Involved consideration of complex issues of law relating to the Defective Premises Act 1972.

Elkins v Hollywood

Acted for defendant to this EL claim. After sustaining minor physical injury during her employment as a waitress, the claimant developed chronic pain. Involved consideration of complex expert medical evidence in the field of orthopaedics, pain management/rheumatology and psychiatry and arguments relating to somatic symptom disorder in view of the claimant’s complex medical history.

C v C

Acted for defendant in this PL claim for damages for psychiatric injury sustained after the claimant witnessed her son sustaining severe burns in an accident at the family home.

Gordon v CJB Staffing Ltd & 3 Others

Acted for one of four defendants in this EL claim for damages for severe head and back injuries brought by an agency worker following his fall from height whilst working at an exhibition centre.

Viscardini v Southend on Sea BC & 1 Other

Acted for successful defendant in this claim concerning complex issues of law relating to occupiers’ liability arising out of claimant’s accident on a concealed surface water outlet pipe on a beach.

Lamb v David Jenkins Design & 3 Others

Concerned an accident on a construction site where the claimant sustained a serious leg injury following a fall whilst being shown around a property that was being renovated. Acted on behalf of the successful fourth defendant architect for the project to defend a claim for breach of statutory duty.

Beel v Sodexo Limited

Acted for successful claimant in this high court claim arising out of an accident occurring in the course of the claimant’s employment as a chef. Involved complex issues of causation which were the subject of expert orthopaedic evidence given the claimant’s pre-accident history.

Robert Murdoch v Department for Work & Pensions

Appeal which concerned the circumstances in which a Government department will owe a duty of care to a benefit claimant for negligence in the administration of claims for incapacity benefit and income support.

Sylwester Dziennik v CTO Gesellschaft fur Container transport MBH & Co MS Juturna KG

Appeal which concerned a claim for substantial damages for personal injury following an accident in the course of the claimant’s employment at sea. Among other matters, the case necessitated consideration of the deductibility of monies received by the claimant pursuant to an insurance policy taken out by his employer and order of deductibility in circumstances where there had been a finding of contributory negligence.

Helen is mainly instructed on behalf of Respondents and appears regularly in the Employment Tribunals, Employment Appeal Tribunal and the civil courts in a range of final and interim hearings. Having been appointed as junior counsel to the Crown (C panel), Helen has extensive experience of litigation involving public sector bodies and regular clients include central government departments, local authorities, local education authorities and NHS trusts. She accepts instructions from leading solicitors in the field and also acts on behalf of a broad range of private sector clients from city institutions and large multinationals to individual professionals, often through major insurer clients.

Helen practices in all areas of employment law and has extensive experience of handling legally and factually complex claims, frequently involving overlapping claims for constructive unfair dismissal, discrimination and whistleblowing as well as claims for damages for personal injury.

Helen has particular expertise and interest in claims arising out of workplace stress, harassment and disability discrimination and claims involving expert medical evidence, given her complementary experience of personal injury litigation. She has also been instructed on a number of high profile services discrimination claims given the extensive experience of workplace discrimination claims she has gained from her employment practice.

Helen regularly gives seminars on all aspects of employment law, most recently presenting a practical guide to handling harassment claims on behalf of Chambers’ Employment Group. Helen is a member of the Bar’s pro bono charity, Advocate and the Court of Appeal Pro Bono Scheme through which she provides assistance to litigants in person in relation to employment law cases. She is also a member of Chambers’ Equality and Diversity Committee.

Notable Employment cases

C v MML & Others (ongoing)

Acting for an Employers’ Liability Insurer in respect of a high value claim brought against it and its insured (in liquidation) for disability discrimination. Exceptionally, the claim is pursued against the insurer in the Employment Tribunal under the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010.

B v LBB (ongoing)

Acting for the defendant local authority to this claim for various types of disability discrimination brought by a visually impaired contact worker following her dismissal for capability.

SVU & KS v NAPAC (ongoing)

Acted for the successful Respondent charity at a preliminary hearing to consider the Respondent’s material factor defence to these claims for equal pay.

Jayadev v AM Technology Limited

Acted for the successful Respondent technology company to this claim brought by a COO and director for automatic unfair dismissal for having made a protected disclosure.

Tesco Underwriting Limited v (1) Mwanza (2) M S Amlin Limited

Advised as to whether the practice of charging higher motor insurance premiums to those who had not been resident in the UK since birth was discriminatory by reference to race in the context of a claim brought by a motor insurer against its insured for a declaration that it was entitled to avoid his policy of motor insurance.

D v ESNE NHS Foundation Trust (ongoing)

Acting for the Respondent NHS Trust to this unusual claim for direct disability discrimination by perception, unfair dismissal and unlawful deduction of wages. The Claimant alleges that the Respondent wrongly perceived that she was disabled by reason of autism and treated her detrimentally as a result.

Abdi v Deltec International Courier Limited

Acted for the Respondent courier company to this claim for substantial damages for discrimination and harassment on grounds of sex, race and religion.

Brooks v Space Architecture Europe Limited

Acted for the successful Respondent to this claim for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination. The Claimant, who was dismissed for harassment and so gross misconduct sought substantial compensation on the basis that his conduct and so his dismissal was caused by one or more of his alleged disabilities, by medication for those disabilities and/or by alcohol consumption caused by those disabilities. Involved the consideration of expert medical evidence in relation to diagnosis and causation in the field of psychiatry.

Thomas v Waypoints Care Group Limited

Acted for the successful Respondent to this whistleblowing claim arising out of disclosures which the claimant made during his employment as a care worker.

Dixon v Stranton Academy Trust

Acted for the Respondent to this claim for unfair dismissal, age discrimination and part-time worker discrimination arising out of a redundancy situation at one of the schools within the Academy Trust. Obtained the dismissal of all discrimination claims and a 70% Polkey reduction.

Melendez v Kepler Chevreux

Acted for the Respondent Financial Services Company to this claim for unfair dismissal, sex discrimination and harassment arising out of a redundancy exercise.

Angel v Cambridgeshire County Council & 2 Others

Acted on behalf of the first Respondent local education authority in this factually complex high value claim for constructive unfair dismissal, victimisation and whistleblowing which the claimant brought against the LEA and 3 other respondents. Involved consideration of complex legal issues relating to the employment status of the claimant teacher vis a vis her school and the LEA.

G & Others v SA & Others

Concerned a claim for disability discrimination brought against the defendant association as a service provider. The Claimants claimed on behalf of themselves and their son and alleged amongst other things a failure to make reasonable adjustments leading to their son’s unlawful exclusion from association activities.

Probert v TSC Ltd

Acted for the defendant through 2 major insurer clients in this high value claim for disability discrimination. The claimant alleged that his exposure to excessively cold temperatures in the workplace caused an exacerbation of a rare pre-existing neurological condition. Involved consideration of complex expert evidence from two consultant neurologists.

Department for Work & Pensions v Coulson

Appeal which concerned the defence of contributory fault in a claim for unfair dismissal.

Anthony Neary v (1) Service Children's Education (2) Ministry of Defence (3) St John's School

Appeal which concerned the Employment Tribunal’s territorial jurisdiction to consider claims for disability and age discrimination and in particular the meaning of the phrase “ordinarily resident in Great Britain” for this purpose.

Parminder Kaur Sahota v (1) Home Office (UKBA) (2) Rick Pipkin

Concerned the question whether a woman undergoing IVF treatment was to be regarded for the purposes of a sex discrimination claim as in a comparable position to a pregnant woman such that, if the reason for her treatment was IVF treatment, her discrimination claim would succeed without the need to consider how a man undergoing medical treatment would have been treated.

Total Gas & Power v Wijnja

Appeal which concerned the circumstances in which the Employment Appeal Tribunal will grant an extension of time in which to file a Notice of Appeal.

Significant Cases

Department for Work and Pensions v Coulson UKEAT/0572/12LA

Concerning the defence of contributory fault in a claim for unfair dismissal.

Anthony Neary v (1) Service Children’s Education (2) Ministry of Defence (3) St John’s School UKEAT/0101/10, [2010] ICR 1083, [2010] IRLR 1030

Concerning the Employment Tribunal’s territorial jurisdiction to consider claims for disability and age discrimination and in particular the meaning of the phrase “ordinarily resident in Great Britain” for this purpose.

Robert Murdoch v Department for Work and Pensions [2010] EWHC 1988

Concerning the circumstances in which a Government department will owe a duty of care to a benefit claimant for negligence in the administration of claims for incapacity benefit and income support.

Parminder Kaur Sahota v (1) Home Office (UKBA) (2) Pick Pipkin UKEAT 0342/09/LA, [2010] ICR 772

As to whether a woman undergoing IVF treatment was to be regarded for the purposes of a sex discrimination claim as in a comparable position to a pregnant woman such that, if the reason for her treatment was IVF treatment, her discrimination claim would succeed without the need to consider how a man undergoing medical treatment would have been treated.

Total Gas & Power v Wijnja UKEAT/0059/06

Concerning the circumstances in which the Employment Appeal Tribunal will grant an extension of time in which to file a Notice of Appeal.

Sylwester Dziennik v CTO Gesellschaft fur Containertransport MBH & Co MS Juturna KG [2006] EWCA Civ 1456

Concerning a claim for substantial damages for personal injury following an accident in the course of the claimant’s employment at sea. Among other matters, the case necessitated consideration of the decision of the Court of Appeal in Gaca v Pirelli [2004] EWCA Civ 373 and the deductibility of monies received by the claimant pursuant to an insurance policy taken out by his employer and order of deductibility in circumstances where there had been a finding of contributory negligence.

Privacy Policy

Helen Bell Privacy Policy

My contact details:

ICO Reg No: Z8089358
Address: 2 Temple Gardens, London, EC4Y 9AY
Email: clerks@2tg.co.uk
Phone: +44 (0)20 7822 1200

The type of personal information I collect

To enable me to provide you with legal advice and representation in courts, tribunals, arbitrations and mediations, I currently collect and process the following personal information:

Personal identifiers, contacts and characteristics (for example, name, date of birth and contact details), bank and financial details, your background and circumstance and education.

Other personal data relevant to, or included in instructions to provide legal services, including data specific to the instructions in question and data included in documents provided to me as part of instructions or otherwise.

Such information may include personal information relating to family members, associates, agents, employees, shareholders or beneficial owners. By providing such personal information to me, you automatically confirm that you are authorised to do so. It is not reasonably practicable for me to provide the information set out in this Privacy Notice to those individuals. Accordingly, where appropriate, you are responsible for providing this information to any such individuals.

Where necessary, I may also need to process Special Category data about you including

  • racial or ethnic origin;
  • personal data revealing political opinions;
  • personal data revealing religious or philosophical beliefs;
  • personal data revealing trade union membership;
  • genetic data;
  • biometric data (where used for identification purposes);
  • data concerning health;
  • data concerning a person’s sex life; and
  • data concerning a person’s sexual orientation.

How I get the personal information and why I have it

Most of the personal information that I process is provided to me directly by you or via the professional you have instructed such as a solicitor or consultant or other professional adviser who instructs me on your behalf to provide legal services.

I use the information that you have given me in order to

  • provide legal services to you, my client, including the provision of legal advice and
  • representation in courts, tribunals, arbitrations, and mediations
  • keep accounting records and carry out office administration
  • take or defend legal or regulatory proceedings or to exercise a lien
  • respond to potential complaints or make complaints
  • check for potential conflicts of interest in relation to future potential cases
  • promote and market my services
  • carry out anti-money laundering and terrorist financing checks
  • train other barristers and pupils, and when providing work-shadowing opportunities
  • publish legal judgments and decisions of courts and tribunals as required or permitted by law.

I may share this information with

  • other professional advisers such as other legal professionals and consultant experts and other witnesses
  • courts and tribunals
  • the staff in my Chambers
  • prosecution authorities
  • pupils and mini pupils
  • lay clients
  • family and associates of the person whose personal information I am processing
  • in the event of complaints, the Head of Chambers, other individuals nominated by Chambers who deal with complaints, the Bar Standards Board, and the Legal Ombudsman
  • other regulatory authorities
  • current, past or prospective employers
  • education and examining bodies
  • business associates, professional advisers and trade bodies, e.g. the Bar Council
  • professional indemnity insurers or brokers
  • the general public in relation to the publication of legal judgments and decisions of courts and tribunals
  • If you have engaged other professional advisers to instruct me on your behalf on the matters on which I am providing legal services to you, I shall assume that I may disclose your personal information to them unless you tell me otherwise.
  • I may be required to provide your information to regulators, such as the Bar Standards Board, the Financial Conduct Authority or the Information Commissioner’s Office. In the case of the Information Commissioner’s Office, there is a risk that your information may lawfully be disclosed by them for the purpose of any other civil or criminal proceedings, without my consent or yours, which includes privileged information.
  • I may also be required to disclose your information to the police or intelligence services, where, acting in good faith, I consider it required and permitted by law.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the lawful basis I rely on for processing this information is

  • The processing is necessary for a contract I have with you, or because you have asked me to take specific steps before entering into a contract.
  • You are able to remove your consent at any time. You can do this by contacting me.
  • It may be necessary for me to share your personal data to comply with legal obligations to, for example, HMRC.

How I store your personal information

Your information is securely stored in Chambers or at my home. I use reasonable technical and organisational security measures such as password protection and encryption of computer generated data and keeping paper data secure to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost or destroyed, or used or accessed in an unauthorised way.

In this connection, Chambers, as data processor, acting on my behalf, will only process your personal data on my instructions and is subject to a duty of confidentiality.

The data will be held in line with any regulatory obligations and generally be kept for 6 years but may be 12 years, or longer where, for example, the case includes information relating to a minor, from the date of completion of instructions. At this point any further retention will be reviewed and the data will be marked for deletion or marked for retention for a further period.

All data will be securely deleted or securely shredded after this time without reference to you. I will store some of your information which I need to carry out conflict checks for the rest of my career. However, this is likely to be limited only to your name and contact details and the name of the case. It will not include any information that is “sensitive information” for GDPR purposes.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

  • Your right of access – You have the right to ask me for copies of your personal information.
  • Your right to rectification – You have the right to ask me to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask me to complete information you think is incomplete.
  • Your right to erasure – You have the right to ask me to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Your right to restriction of processing – You have the right to ask me to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Your right to object to processing – You have the the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Your right to data portability – You have the right to ask that I transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
  • You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, I have one month to respond to you. Please contact me at 2 Temple Gardens, London, EC4Y 9AY or clerks@2tg.co.uk if you wish to make a request.

Transfer of your information outside the European Economic Area (EEA)

This privacy notice is of general application and as such it is not possible to state whether it will be necessary to transfer your information out of the EEA. If I do transfer your personal data I will use safeguards to ensure the data is fully protected as required by the UK Data Protection Regulations.

Changes to my Privacy Policy

From time to time, I may need to make chances to my privacy policy. If so, the changes will appear on my entry on the 2TG website.

Marketing

As above, I may share your personal data with Chambers who may in turn use that data to notify you by email, or post about an invitation to seminars and similar events. You may opt out of receiving any such marketing communications at any time by using the “unsubscribe” link in any emails. In relation to how Chambers uses such data, please see Chambers’ privacy policy. Other than sharing personal data with Chambers as described above, I will not share your information with any other third party for marketing purposes.

How to complain

If you have any concerns about my use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to me or to my Senior Clerk, Lee Tyler at 2 Temple Gardens, London, EC4Y 9AY or clerks@2tg.co.uk. You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.

The ICO’s address:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113
ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk

© Briefed Ltd 2021. All Rights Reserved.

Contact Helen
+44 (0)20 7822 1200
vCard
Download CV
Save profile
Print

"Excels in dealing with complex claims."

Legal 500 2024

"An excellent advocate."

Chambers UK 2023

"Delivers excellent client service and is always so personable."

Chambers UK 2023

"Quick to grasp the issues, efficient and knowledgeable."

Legal 500 2023

"A supremely impressive barrister."

Chambers UK 2022

"Technically excellent and very personable."

Chambers UK 2022

  • Treasury C Panel (2008-2014)

  • Harmsworth Scholarship, Middle Temple
  • Hammond Suddards Edge Prize for Copyright & Moral Rights
  • Slaughter & May Prize for Legal History
  • Wadham College Scholar

  • MA, Wadham College, Oxford University
  • Jurisprudence (First), Nottingham Law School

  • Personal Injury Bar Association (PIBA)
  • Employment Law Bar Association (ELBA)
  • Employment Lawyers Association (ELA)
  • Professional Negligence Bar Association (PNBA)
  • London Common Law & Commercial Bar Association (LCLCBA)
  • Court of Appeal Pro Bono Scheme (COAS)
  • Advocate

  • New Law Journal (published 4.11.16 volume 166): Managing the Crossover relating to the overlap between Personal Injury and Employment Law

“Helen is a superb advocate who is thorough, tenacious and intelligent.”
“Helen is very good with clients and has a knack for putting complex legal issues in an easily digestible manner. She’s hands-on and a pleasure to work with.”
Chambers UK 2024

“Helen’s attention to detail is brilliant. She excels in dealing with complex claims and always provides pragmatic and commercial advice.”
“Helen’s advocacy is assured and impressive.”
Legal 500 2024

“Helen is very approachable and an easy fit with clients.” “She cuts through to the relevant points and is able to take a commercial view.” “She manages expectations well, delivers excellent client service and is always so personable.” “Helen is an excellent advocate. She has a great manner with clients and gets good results.” “Helen is a very sharp barrister who is very quick to grasp the issues.”
Chambers UK 2023

“Helen is always incredibly well prepared and is a tenacious advocate.” “Helen is quick to grasp the issues, efficient and knowledgeable.”
Legal 500 2023

“She has the ability to grasp the facts, she is lovely to deal with and she’s very thorough – she is a supremely impressive barrister.” “She is very tenacious, she is completely prepared and she will go the extra mile to get the best result possible.” “Technically excellent and very personable. She is extremely organised and very methodical.” “She is so detailed and doesn’t miss a trick.” 
Chambers UK 2022

“She has a good grasp of the case, and is concise, well-informed and legally sound. Also pragmatic, which is needed in many cases.”
Legal 500 2022

“She’s empathetic and grasps the main issues in the case quickly.” “She’s exceptionally bright, very thorough and understands the client’s needs.”
Chambers UK 2021

Portfolio Builder

Select the expertise that you would like to download or add to the portfolio

Download    Add to portfolio   
Portfolio
Title Type CV Email

Remove All

Download

Click here to share this shortlist.
(It will expire after 30 days.)