With over 25 years’ experience in the field of defendant insurance law, Sarah is a partner in the Liverpool office at Keoghs having joined in July 2022 after spending 13 years as a partner in the Manchester office of BLM. Sarah acts for insurers and insureds on a wide range of professional indemnity instructions, including surveyors, architects, engineers and other construction professionals, solicitors, accountants and auditors, insurance brokers, estate agents, property managers and IFAs.
She advises on policy coverage, including challenges to the nature of indemnity, non‑disclosure, misrepresentation and fraud. Sarah has represented professionals before their regulatory bodies, including NAEA and ACCA and advises on risk identification and awareness.
Sarah has a wealth of experience in dealing with a wide range of matters, both litigated and non-litigated, and has successfully settled many cases through mediation, adjudication and other forms of ADR, as well as having secured successful outcomes at trial.
Recent experience includes:
- Advising an architect in a multi-party claim in relation to fire safety issues in a block of flats owned by a local housing authority. Whilst this is not a traditional cladding claim, the alleged deficiencies in the fire protection at the building were highlighted in a report commissioned post Grenfell. Careful analysis of the remedial scheme proposed and working closely with fire engineering, architectural and quantum experts has led to the ability to challenge quantum dramatically. Quantum claimed is in excess of £6m.
- Advising insurers on coverage in relation to a claim involving the leak of harmful chemicals during a construction process at a school where the insured were involved in pumping a substance into the walls of the school which allegedly produced dangerous levels of formaldehyde. Working closely with defence solicitors and insurers, a compromise was reached in relation to the insured elements of the claim at mediation.
- Advising a firm of architects in relation to a claim involving the design of the concrete beams in the superstructure of a hospital. Quantum claimed is estimated at £40m.
- Advising a firm of architects in relation to a claim in relation to cladding on a residential block of flats in London. The claim has been brought by the main contractor on the project and remedial works, which have not yet been undertaken, are estimated at £50m.
