Frankie Rhodes

I am an experienced Senior Associate Solicitor, having practiced in Clinical Negligence law for ten years. I run a busy and varied caseload, but I specialise in maternity cases involving injuries to mother and baby, including cerebral palsy claims, perineal tears, psychiatric illnesses, and neonatal deaths. I am passionate about obtaining justice for all people and offering support to bereaved families at inquests. I am a proud triplet and a keen supporter of Twins Trust and CPotential. Previous clients have said that I made a difficult time much easier for them, and I pride myself on the ability to advise clients with compassion and to use my expertise to seek justice on their behalf and obtain the very best outcome.

Key highlights

Recent work highlights include the following:

• I have experience in both hearings in front of coroners and article two inquests in front of a jury. I was successful in securing a number of rare neglect conclusions, as well as unlawful killing and gross negligence manslaughter
• I assisted on a claim from issue of proceedings until conclusion, leading all quantum investigations and reaching settlement of over £32 million for a child left with quadriplegic cerebral palsy because of a failure to identify jaundice and bilirubin toxicity
• I secured a full admission of liability and substantial interim payments in respect of both costs and damages in a claim for a young girl with an injury of maximum severity. Her birth was mismanaged, which facilitated an HSIB investigation, and I negotiated with the other side under the Early Notification Scheme thereafter
• I obtained an early admission of liability in a stillbirth claim for a mother who had cholestasis which was not treated as an emergency. The claim settled for a six figure sum
• I also acted for the dependent partner and baby daughter of a man in his thirties who died as a result of dehydration and sepsis, having made multiple attempts to seek medical help, securing a neglect verdict at the inquest (worth over £2 million)
• I obtained a substantial interim payment ahead of settlement on behalf of a mother in her thirties who sustained a fourth-degree perineal tear during the birth of her child due to negligent use of forceps (worth over £1 million).

What do you like about working at Irwin Mitchell?

As we are a full-service law firm, we can offer clients help in such a variety of areas and the additional support from our Rehabilitation Coordinators and Welfare Benefits Team is something which many clients benefit from.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your role?

It is a real privilege to be able to help people at what can be the worst time of their lives, in some cases to seek answers about how their loved ones have died and in other cases, to support those who have been injured and secure them maximum compensation in order to give them a better quality of life.

What inspired you to get into law?

I wanted to have a stimulating and rewarding career, where I could challenge myself and make a real difference in people's lives.

What do you do away from the office?

I am a voracious reader, I sing in a gospel choir, regularly attend musical theatre productions on the West End and I play in the Irwin Mitchell netball team!