Lucy Mellor is an Associate in the clinical negligence department. In addition to managing her own caseload, she assists partner Sally Leonards with complex and high-value brain and spinal injury cases.
Lucy has a wide range of experience and enjoys dealing with the varied nature of cases that her role attracts. She has developed particular interest and expertise in cases involving stillbirth, women’s health, and delays in diagnosing cancer.
Frequently acting in cases involving the death of a loved one under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976, and where the matter has subsequently been referred for a coroner’s inquest, Lucy has helped to secure multiple coronial findings that a patient’s death was contributed to by the “neglect” of hospital staff.
She has provided insight and commentary to various news outlets on the topics of maternity failures, including with The Independent and Sky News, and regarding the mismanagement of sepsis in an autistic child (ITV News).
Lucy's successful cases include:
- A settlement of £850,000 secured for a 55-year-old father-of-two with terminal oesophageal cancer and his family. Without the delay in diagnosis, this man would have been cured.
- ·Compensation of £200,000 obtained for the widower of a 69-year-old woman who suffered greatly and died following a seven-year delay in diagnosing hypothyroidism. The condition is common and easily treatable with medication.
- Secured £155,000 for a young man following a three-year delay in diagnosing a scaphoid fracture. He underwent avoidable surgery and suffered from permanent pain and impaired movement.
- A settlement of £150,000 obtained for the widow of a 66-year-old man who suffered a delay in diagnosing and treating Cauda Equina Syndrome. In the years prior to his death, he suffered from neuropathic pain and numbness in his legs, impaired mobility, and bladder, bowel, and sexual dysfunction.
- Compensation of £134,000 for the widow of a 69-year-old man who died of cancer after pre-cancerous cells taken during a biopsy were incorrectly reported as ‘normal’.
- Obtained £90,000 in compensation for a woman who was wrongly told that she had terminal breast cancer when in fact it was treatable with minimally invasive surgery. The negligence meant that she underwent an avoidable mastectomy and chemotherapy.
- ·Secured £75,000 for the family of a 91-year-old man who died following a delay in diagnosing bowel cancer.
- Compensation totalling £60,000 agreed for the mother of a baby boy who was stillborn following a failure to recognise that she was at risk of developing pre-eclampsia and deliver her baby before he came to harm.
- Secured £48,000 in compensation for a woman who was given an overdose of intravenous adrenaline. She suffered a cardiac arrest, required CPR, and suffered psychiatric injuries.
- Obtained £37,500 in compensation for a woman who suffered a delay in diagnosing a retinal detachment.
- Achieved a compensation settlement of £26,500 for a mother following the “wrongful birth” of her son. He was born severely disabled and died a few weeks later. Genetic abnormalities were not picked up during ultrasound scanning in pregnancy which meant that she was denied the option of terminating her pregnancy.
- Agreed a £22,500 compensation settlement on behalf of the widow of a 60-year-old gentleman who died after being overdosed on IV blood thinners.
Client reviews of Lucy
"Hard to find the words to say how very grateful we are to Lucy Mellor. What an outstanding solicitor she is, and an amazing person. With us every single step of the way, she works so hard she really does. She answered every single question we asked, and if she knew we may find something difficult to understand she would call us and explain the finest detail in the most simple format […] Lucy settled out case in quick fashion and did everything she could to get us the justice Freddie deserves. We could not recommend her or JMW enough, absolutely fantastic!!!” – 5* Trustpilot review
“I can honestly say my whole experience with JMW Solicitors has been an absolute pleasure from start to finish all thanks to Lucy. Lucy was very professional throughout, keeping me updated every step of the way, explaining things I wasn’t too sure of, and giving me reassurance all the way through. She is a lovely person, kind, caring and thoughtful […] definitely a 5 star solicitor” – 5* Trustpilot review
“Lucy is extremely competent both in terms of her technical ability and her support to her client. She always explained legal terms and progression of my case in a very clear and unpatronising way. At times when I was critical or emotional, she drew on her experience to offer me support and help me see things more logically. Lucy showed extreme tenacity and perseverance in dealing with a defendant who I saw as difficult and obstructive. Lucy is a credit to your organisation and represents you well” - Emailed review
“Lucy Mellor provided a very professional and considerate service throughout what was a very challenging period for our family. I would thoroughly recommend Lucy” – 5* Trustpilot review
“Lucy Mellor has been extremely helpful and supportive while dealing with a sensitive case throughout a difficult time. Nothing was ever too much and she went above and beyond whilst explaining all aspects very clearly and making the process as straight forward as possible. Highly recommend!” – 5* Trustpilot review
“I would like to thank Lucy Mellor at JMW for her hard work in my late husband’s clinical negligence case. I was kept up to date regularly and was shown compassion and empathy at all times. It wasn’t always easy due to the lack of response from the NHS, but with Lucy’s persistence we were finally able to get justice and closure on what has been a very difficult time. I can’t thank Lucy enough” – 5* Trustpilot review
“Lucy, my assigned solicitor, was lovely. She was very honest, compassionate and efficient. She certainly made a very difficult process easier” – 5* Trustpilot review
“Lucy has been amazing and showed real tenacity and perseverance on what was a very complex and technical case. Lucy’s attention to detail and confidence kept the case moving forward […] Lucy made sure that the other side did not get away with just ignoring their failure. Thank you so much Lucy” – 5* Trustpilot review
“Lucy was throughout friendly, helpful, patient and clear in her explanations and efficient in dealing with matters. Whenever we weren’t sure how best to process or what something meant, Lucy always ensured that my family understood everything clearly and set out the pros and cons of each course of action” – 5* Trustpilot review
“From start to finish Lucy has been amazing, keeping me up to date every step of the way and explaining everything along the way. She has helped resolve a horrible time in my life and I can’t thank her enough!” – 5* Trustpilot review
“I’m actually in tears now, this is the first positive thing that has happened, and I am so grateful to you for everything you’ve done to help me so far. Thank you for everything you’ve done Lucy, for all your time, all your help, all your patience and all your care, you will never know just how much I appreciate it” – Emailed review
“Thank you again for all your support throughout the inquest process. Each of the Trusts commented on how thorough the questioning was and how well it was written which was a credit to you” – Emailed review
Education
Graduating from Lancaster University, Lucy achieved a first-class honours degree in law. As part of her degree, she completed a 15,000-word thesis with a focus on Articles 5, 6, and 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights and attained the highest mark possible. She then went on to complete her legal practice course at BPP Law School in Manchester and gained a distinction. Lucy is also a past winner of the Law Society’s national annual essay competition.