Gwen Kirby-Dent

Gwen is a highly experienced solicitor specialising in catastrophic injuries arising from clinical negligence and is the team leader for the London-based clinical negligence lawyers within Thompsons' national clinical negligence team.

Gwen is highly experienced in handling severe injuries, focusing on assisting adults and children who have sustained brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy birth injuries, and spinal injuries resulting in quadriplegia and paraplegia.

Throughout her extensive career, Gwen has successfully secured numerous multi-million-pound settlements for her clients, often incorporating periodical payments and provisions for continued care.

Gwen is widely recognised as a determined and persistent litigator who passionately champions her clients' needs while being approachable and compassionate. Her primary focus, alongside the rest of her team, is obtaining early interim payments to facilitate rehabilitation, establish care packages, and secure appropriate housing even before the claim is finalised, ensuring significant benefits for the client and their family.

Gwen's case experience

• In the year 2020/21 Gwen secured damages for her clients in excess of £61 million in five separate cases for boys with cerebral palsy. In every case, there were annual payments for life increasing during the lifetime of the child to meet their changing and increasing needs.

• £1,500,000 for a man who suffered a brain injury during a road traffic accident.

• £2,175,000 for a client who suffered a brain injury from a stroke due to poor working practices. In addition, there are to be annual payments during the client's lifetime that will increase as his needs change.

• Securing �1.8m for a client as an interim payment for purchasing a specialist property with adaptations whilst the case was ongoing.

Landmark cases

• Periodical Payments: Gwen's case of Godbold v Mahmood was one of the first in the UK involving periodical payments paid annually for every year of a claimant's life.

• Vicarious Liability: In Hawley v Luminar Leisure plc, Gwen tested the extent to which an organisation that employs contract workers may be held responsible for their actions depending on the level of control that they retain.

• Interim Payments: Gwen obtained an order in Barrett v East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust that an interim payment for her client to adapt his home was appropriate, enabling him to move out of the care home where he had lived since a negligent tracheostomy had left him mentally and physically disabled.

Professional memberships

• Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel Member.
• Accredited as a Senior Litigator with The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.
• Member of Headway (the Brain Injury Association).
• Member of the Child Brain Injury Trust.
• Member of the UK Acquired Brain Injury Forum.

Gwen is also deputy chair for her local Clinical Commissioning Group patient engagement forum.

Testimonials

We worked with Gwen Kirby-Dent, who was amazing. Extremely knowledgeable and her guidance throughout the case and hearing was invaluable. Gwen’s awareness of relevant experts and providing the best service possible was always top of the agenda.

Legal 500 2026

Gwen is an exceptional solicitor who is in constant communication with us with case updates and always takes the time to listen to our concerns and explain each stage so we know what is happening next and what to expect with time scales and her professional opinion. Gwen is always there to advise us and is empathetic and approachable and nothing is too much trouble for her guiding us through a very long and complex process. Ultimately we have full confidence in Gwen and her team to lead us through we hope to a just and positive conclusion for our daughter. We appreciate how very lucky we are to have Gwen and her team on our side and have nothing but praise for all their efforts.

Gwen's former client

I'm so glad we chose Thompsons to handle our son's litigation case. We wanted a firm we could trust to get the best possible outcome for him, and that's exactly what Thompsons delivered. We expected to receive sound advice and guidance, but we were bowled over by how much our solicitor cared. She was also patient and pragmatic. So, after waiting years for the case to settle, we felt incredibly sad when our relationship with her came to an end.

Gwen's former client