Carl Rix

Carl has a broad experience across most aspects of employment law both in terms of hearings and paperwork. He is regularly instructed for preliminary, final, and remedy hearings, as well as advising on claims more generally. He has a broad experience in dealing with a variety of matters including strike out and deposit order applications, preliminary hearings on time limits and disability (including ground rules hearings), as well as judicial mediations and Dispute Resolution Appointments. Carl also has experience in more niche matters, such as applications for anonymity and preliminary hearings on continuous employment.

Despite being relatively junior, Carl has also been instructed in proceedings before the EAT acting unled as sole counsel and acted in discrimination claims brought within the civil courts in respect of service provisions.

Carl has undertaken two secondments with leading employment law firms, giving him experience and insight into how best to assist those who instruct him.

Carl’s employment law highlights include:

• Advising a trade union in respect of a negligence claim against it relating to advice provided by its representatives.
• A 5-day final hearing dealing with claims of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination.
• A 6-day final hearing dealing with harassment, reasonable adjustments, and discrimination arising from disability.
• A 6-day final hearing dealing with reasonable adjustments, indirect discrimination, and victimisation.
• A-4 day disability discrimination hearing relating to working from home provisions operated by police force
• Representing multiple claimants in a ‘failure to consult’ claim in respect of mass redundancy.
• Drafting an Answer on behalf of a Respondent to an EAT appeal.
• Securing an anonymity order in respect of a claim relating to spent convictions.
• Drafting an application for interim relief in respect of a Financial Controller of an international wealth management business.
• Drafting an Amended Grounds of Resistance for a Public Body in respect of three consolidated claims which had over 50 separate claims to respond to.
• Drafting a Grounds of Complaint in relation to a whistleblowing claim for a CEO (Carl was led by Jack Mitchell).
• Advising on the scope of a ‘Loss of License’ payment scheme provided by an airline for its pilots.

Carl is frequently instructed in both fast-track and multi-track cases, including fast-track trials and CCMCs. Carl has covered a wide range of applications in the civil courts (both fast-track and multi-track) including applications relating to disclosure, expert evidence, allocation, strike out, default judgment, non-compliance with the relevant pre-action protocol, and of course relief from sanctions. Carl has also been instructed in cases involving fundamental dishonesty.

Carl  has a busy paper practice. He has extensive experience in advising on both liability and quantum, including in respect of complicated matters relating to contributory negligence of a child claimant, claims under the Animals Act, and secondary victim claims.

Carl also frequently covers for more senior members of chambers, including successfully appearing for the Claimant in an approval hearing in the High Court for a settlement of £1.7 million.

Carl’s personal injury experience includes:

• Drafting Particulars of Claim in a Highways Act multi-track claim.
• Drafting Particulars of Claim in an employer’s liability claim relating to a lorry accident that was valued in the region of £100,000.
• Drafting Particulars of Claim in an employer’s liability claim relating to an employee of a school being attacked by a student.
• Advising in respect of contributory negligence for a child claimant injured at school.
• Advising in respect of a dog-bit claim under the Animals Act.

Advising in respect of an occupier’s liability multi-track claim where the claimant fell at a public event.

Carl has a keen interest in this area having spent two and a half years as a Litigation Executive, specialising in clinical negligence and inquests, at a large regional firm in Norwich. Carl was the sole fee earner on a substantial number of clinical negligence claims which involved, amongst other things, missed diagnosis, negligent surgery, and lack of informed consent.

Since coming to the bar, and despite being relatively junior, Carl has built up a strong clinical negligence practice, advising on claims in both conference and paper. Carl also regularly covers more senior members of chambers at their CCMCs and infant approval hearings.

Carl’s clinical negligence experiences includes:

• Advising in conference with experts, and drafting Particulars of Claim, in respect of a failure to provide anti-biotic pro-phylaxis prior to surgery.
• Advising in conference with experts in respect of a delayed appendicitis diagnosis claim.
• Drafting written advice on quantum in respect of a delayed wrist fracture diagnosis, including dealing with complex issues of loss of income as a contractor.
• Drafting multiple advices on quantum for various fatal accident act claims following their respective inquests. This included advising on whether a non-married cohabitee fell within the scope of the bereavement award, and issues of pension loss.
• Advising in conference with experts in respect of a preventable fall of an elderly patient in a radiology department.
• Drafting the Particulars of Claim for a claim resulting from a negligent caesarean section.
• Drafting agendas for joint expert meetings.
• Being led by Ben Collins KC in a High Court Trial (Conway v Yeovil District Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust & Anor [2025] EWHC 2488 (KB))
• Assisting Charlie Woodhouse KC in drafting a Schedule of Loss in a fatal accidents claim pleaded at over £1 million.

Carl has a strong interest in inquests and is keen to develop this area of practice. Whilst Carl’s  experience is predominantly in representing families at inquests, he welcomes instructions from other interested persons as well. Carl also covers for more senior members of chambers at hearings such as pre-inquest reviews.

Carl’s inquest experience dovetails with his personal injury and clinical negligence practice, where he often represents parties at an inquest and then advises on any subsequent civil claim.

Despite only being two years into full-time practice, Carl has already been ranked as ‘Up and Coming’ by Chambers & Partners (2026) for inquests and public inquiries (London Bar).

Carl’s experience include the following:

•  A two-day inquest involving the death of a female patient in hospital where her NEWS scores were raised. Carl successfully obtained a PFD report for the family on the issue of patient’s accessing call bells to call for assistance.
•  A three-day inquest involving the death of an elderly man in the community from sepsis. The inquest considered the appropriateness of his previous discharge from hospital, and the subsequent care from the community nurses. Carl successfully obtained a PFD report
• A two-day inquest involving the death of a women following a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.
• A two-day inquest involving the death of a woman following a hysterectomy at a private hospital.
•  A one-day inquest involving the death of a male following a liver biopsy. Carl successfully obtained PFD reports against the local NHS Trust and the British Society of Gastroenterology, the Royal College of Radiologists, and the Royal College of Pathology.
•  A 9-day inquest (which went part heard) into the death of a women in her twenties who suffered an epileptic seizure and subsequently died of positional asphyxia. She was held under a DOLs in a private care home facility. This case obtained significant media attention. Carl also acted in the subsequent civil claim which settled.
• A 2-day inquest which conserved whether a patient had died from an air embolism. Both the Family and the NHS Trust instructed their own experts and the Coroner heard evidence from them both.
• Advising on Consultant on a cross-over between inquest and employment issues in respect of a fear that they would be subject to detriment by including certain matters in a witness statements.
• Advising multiple GPs in request of inquests in which they were made IPs, including advising on PFD matters.

• Institute of Employment Rights: Labour Law Highlights 2025 and 2026
• Old Square Chambers to welcome two new tenants
• Maguire: Supreme Court Dismiss Article 2 Appeal