Dorothy Flower
Partner
One of the leading medical malpractice lawyers in the UK, Dorothy Flower heads up RPC's Medical/Life Sciences team.
Dorothy's practice is far reaching. She regularly defends private sector organisations and individuals in clinical negligence cases, acts for manufacturers and suppliers of medical devices and pharmaceuticals involved in product liability claims, and defends CROs involved in injury claims in connection with clinical trials. She also represents properly interested persons at inquests, often in connection with potential litigation.
The regulatory side to her practice sees Dorothy assisting individuals investigated by the General Medical Council, Health and Care Professions Council and other regulatory bodies. She also advises organisations on Care Quality Commission regulation.
For insurers, she regular advises on policy coverage and helps to draft policy wordings.
Directory quotes
"Dorothy Flower is incredibly experienced and a very good litigator." - Chambers UK 2024
"The team is lead by Dorothy Flower who is one of the most experienced product liability solicitors in the UK. She brings a highly commercial approach and strategic judgment to her cases and stands out for her ability to see the big picture amongst the wealth of factual and expert detail that characterises product liability disputes." - Legal 500 UK 2023
Top Ranked – Chambers UK 2022
Dorothy Flower has notable experience acting on group action claims relating to negligent treatment. She further advises on delayed diagnosis, psychiatric injury and fatal claims. - Chambers UK 2022
Ranked – Chambers UK 2022
"She is a longstanding specialist in the clinical negligence market." - Chambers UK 2022
"Dorothy Flower has been extremely helpful to our organisation." - Chambers UK 2022
Dorothy Flower has great experience in the sector and really knows her clients and their priorities. She stands out for knowledge of how the claims landscape in the sector is developing.’ - The Legal 500 UK 2022
‘Dorothy Flower is one of the most experienced product liability specialists in London. She combines a detailed knowledge of the law with an impressive tactical and strategic awareness. Clients appreciate her understanding of their priorities.’ - The Legal 500 UK 2022
Leading individual - The Legal 500 UK 2022
Dorothy Flower has notable experience acting on group action claims relating to negligent treatment. She further advises on delayed diagnosis, psychiatric injury and fatal claims. - Chambers UK 2021
Dorothy Flower has expertise defending claims against treatments including opioids, metal hips, PIP breast implants and ocular lenses. She has also defended claims concerning clinical trials. - Chambers UK 2021
"Dorothy has excellent subject matter knowledge and has real gravitas when dealing with insurers and other law firms." - Chambers UK 2021
"Dorothy Flowers has exceptional knowledge and leadership skills which have enabled her to build a strong team." - The Legal 500 UK 2021
"The team here have strength and depth and offer a supreme service to their clients." - The Legal 500 UK 2021
"Dorothy Flower is a real star." - The Legal 500 UK 2021
Hall of Fame - The Legal 500 UK 2021
Leading Individual - The Legal 500 UK 2021
Recommended - The Legal 500 UK 2021
Hall of Fame - The Legal 500 UK 2020
"Excellent all-round lawyer, business thinker" - The Legal 500 UK 2020
Leading individual - The Legal 500 UK 2020
"Dorothy Flower is just brilliant, always there for us, and we have really enjoyed working with Genevieve Isherwood on recent issues – to the point where I will be sad when our current case is concluded!" - The Legal 500 UK 2020
Dorothy Flower is a highly respected clinical negligence litigator who specialises in defending claims on behalf of private sector clients. She represents healthcare organisations, medical malpractice insurers and private hospitals, as well as individual healthcare practitioners. - Chambers UK 2019
"She is very astute and pragmatic; she takes the time to make sure things are done the right way and she doesn't cut corners." - Chambers UK 2019
[Dorothy is praised] for her representation of medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical clients in high-stakes product liability disputes. - Chambers UK 2019
"She's excellent with clients." - Chambers UK 2019
"She really cares about the case, and has an excellent strategic overview and a deft touch." - Chambers UK 2019
Clients comment on "the depth of experience and knowledge she has in the medical field." - Chambers UK 2018
"She adds value to the process of defence work." - Chambers UK 2018
"Star performer." - The Legal 500 UK 2018
Leading individual - The Legal 500 UK 2018
"Truly exceptional; unflappable under pressure and a real intellectual heavyweight." - The Legal 500 UK 2018
She is a leading solicitor in the field of reproductive medicine and has experience in mental health, psychiatric injury, overdose and mis-prescription claims. - The Legal 500 UK 2017
The "very experienced" Dorothy Flower leads the medical and life sciences team at RPC and is adept in defending suppliers and manufacturers of medical devices and pharmaceutical products in major disputes. - The Legal 500 UK 2017
Dorothy Flower is a highly regarded practitioner praised for her experience defending individuals and private organisations in clinical negligence cases. She is particularly adept at handling matters involving reproductive medicine. - Chambers UK 2017
Recommended - The Legal 500 UK 2016
Flower is noted for her "energy and penetrating analysis when co-ordinating a defence." - The Legal 500 UK 2016
Practice head Dorothy Flower "brings energy and penetrating analysis to her role." - The Legal 500 UK 2016
Sources describe her as "excellent" and "a good, safe pair of hands who will do a decent job." - Chambers UK 2016
Listed in the elite "Leading lawyers" list - The Legal 500 UK 2015
RPC’s Dorothy Flower is "top-notch for expertise and commerciality, and fights robustly for clients." - The Legal 500 UK 2015
Recognised as a Hot 100 lawyer for 2015 by The Lawyer for "her standout work in her specialist field."
Recommended - The Legal 500 UK 2015
"Dorothy Flower earns praise as a "highly experienced" and "uniquely skilled" specialist in the market." - Chambers UK 2015
"Department head Dorothy Flower has a depth of experience acting for insurers and healthcare organisations." - The Legal 500 UK 2014
"Dorothy Flower maintains her position as a respected figure in the clinical negligence field, thanks to her continued appearance on many substantial, complex defence cases." - Chambers UK 2014
Relevant work
Young v Anglo American South Africa 2014- significant Court of Appeal victory on jurisdiction, specifically the interpretation of Article 60 of the Brussels 1 regulation, with far-reaching consequences for all commercial litigation
PIP breast implants litigation- defending the UK supplier and its insurers, in the ongoing group litigation, in which hundreds of women claim that the implants were prone to rupture and therefore of unsatisfactory quality
"Metal-on-metal" hip replacement litigation- defending a manufacturer in 300+ claims, where patients are alleging that the products were defective and failed earlier than other comparable alternatives
Ian Paterson litigation- acting for a private hospital group in defence of hundreds of claims by individuals who allege negligent treatment by breast and general surgeon, Ian Paterson, over a 15 year period
Contaminated baby feed cases- instructed by insurers for the manufacturer