A solicitor who represented women who were given mesh implants has been charged with multiple allegations of misconduct.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority today published its decision notice to prosecute Darren Hanison, who ran Fortitude Law in West Sussex.
The firm was subject to intervention almost two years ago and Hanison is now alleged to have told a client she was receiving a settlement but not telling her this was after taking nearly half the damages in costs.
He is also alleged to have failed to take instructions from a litigation client, failed to deal with requests for payments from a third party, made misleading demands for costs and dishonestly kept settlement money to pay supposed success fees.
The SRA further alleges that Hanison failed to ensure clients had valid after-the-event insurance to run claims and misled clients into thinking they were not at risks of costs payments if they lost the litigation. The allegations also include submitting a false public indemnity insurance proposal and created fake insurance policy schedules.
The allegations are subject to a hearing before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and are as yet unproven.
Fortitude Law had positioned itself as a firm specialising in running claims on behalf of women who received disastrous pelvic mesh implants. The firm had run a publicity campaign advertising for victims of the mesh scandal and regularly posted on Facebook looking for clients. Mesh implants had been used in the surgical repair of pelvic organ prolapse and to manage stress urinary incontinence, but these implants have been linked to crippling, life-changing complications.
