23 Jan 2026
Meet Miriam Edwards: Head of Industry Learning & Development at Speed Medical
We’re thrilled to welcome Miriam Edwards to the Speed Medical team! With a distinguished career in catastrophic injury law and a passion for mentoring expert witnesses, Miriam brings a wealth of experience to her new role. We sat down with her to learn more about her journey, her vision for Speed Medical, and what inspires her every day.
Q: Can you tell us a little about your career path and what drew you to specialise in catastrophic injury and brain injury law?
Answer: My degree is in English Literature and my initial interest in law was sparked by a fascination with how language can be used and arguments constructed (an interest that my husband will confirm persists to this day!). Whilst training, I worked on several catastrophic injury cases and the opportunity of being at the interface of complex legal and clinical issues was inspiring. At this time, my Dad sadly passed away due to a brain haemorrhage and so I had first-hand experience of the shock for the family of a loved one suffering a brain injury. I wanted to use my personal experience to inform my legal work and so my path to specialising in catastrophic injury had begun.
Q: Over the years, you’ve led teams handling some of the most complex and high-value cases in the UK. What skills do you think are essential for success in this field?
Answer: There are lots of elements that combine for success in catastrophic injury litigation. Excellent technical legal knowledge and tactical insight are a given, but it is also crucial to be able to explain complex legal principles to the Claimant and their family in a way that they can understand, often at times of great stress to them. It is vital to be able to be empathetic to the Claimant and their situation, establishing a strong rapport and working relationship with them, whilst also being able to maintain professional objectivity. I found that learning about the Claimant’s pre-injury hobbies was always a good way to build that relationship of trust and openness – over the years, I became an expert in a wide range of client interests, including greyhound racing, the workings of steam engines and the weekly progress (or not) of Blackpool FC! It is important that the Claimant lawyer endeavours to work collaboratively with the Defendant’s representatives to seek progress where possible, whilst being willing to litigate where required to protect the Claimant’s interests. This is particularly important when discussing options for funding for rehabilitation, treatment and interim financial support for the Claimant – a key part of the Claimant solicitor’s role is to secure the opportunity for the Claimant to have the right treatment, at the right time, to maximise their recovery potential. As part of this ongoing process, and also when considering settlement parameters for the claim, the solicitor needs to be able to understand complex medical issues and engage with the experts to ask the right questions to ensure that the suite of expert evidence is robust, comprehensive and in accordance with the CPR and the expert’s overriding duty to the Court.
Q: You’ve also served as trustee in organisations like Headway Hertfordshire. How have these experiences influenced the way you approach your work today?
Answer: It was always very important to me to understand the practical realities and challenges facing my clients and their families. Charities like Headway provide incredible support and amazing opportunities for families affected by serious injury and it was always an absolute privilege to spend time with Headway staff and service users, gaining a deeper knowledge of the day-to-day issues, which very much informed my approach to litigation and supporting my clients. That emphasis on the injured Claimant being at the heart of all that we do is just as important to me today and is reflected in Speed Medical’s ethos and focus on quality across all of our services.
Q: Over the past decade, you’ve focused on training and mentoring expert witnesses. What common challenges do experts face, and how do you help them overcome these?
Answer: In my experience, a lot of the challenges that experts face arise from not being confident about how claims work, the legal arguments that underpin many of the cases that we see or understanding why their instructing solicitors are asking them to undertake a particular piece of work, in a particular way or at a particular time. Experts need to be flexible in their thinking if new evidence becomes available, whilst also needing to be confident and robust in understanding their role in assisting the Court, which overrides the duty to the party instructing them, and which can case tensions at times with their instructing solicitors. It can be challenging for experts who are often very senior in their clinical role to go back to being new and inexperienced with a host of new skills to learn when they start their expert witness journey. With all these issues, the choice of company that experts work with is crucial, to ensure that they choose a company that will support them to be able to combine their established clinical skills with legal insight into the litigation process.
Q: You’ve mentioned the importance of combining clinical excellence with legal insight. How does this translate into your work supporting our expert panel and what are your priorities for developing Speed Medical’s panel?
Answer: The Court has made it clear in recent judgments that it is vital that expert witnesses are not only proficient in their expert field but also that they understand their role in the litigation process and have a good understanding of the legal framework within which they operate. Many of the “hot topics” in our area of litigation, such as fundamental dishonesty, require expert input in order for the Court to be able to make a determination. In the clinical negligence arena, it is vital that experts understand the relevant legal tests for breach of duty to be able to provide accurate and robust evidence that the Court can rely upon. There is also a renewed judicial focus on expert duties and conduct, including in relation to compliance with Part 35 and the expert’s overriding duty to the Court (and not as part of the instructing party’s “team”). Within this landscape, Speed Medical are already at the forefront of the industry in ensuring that expert evidence is of the quality required by the Court. My priority is to support our staff and our expert panel in continuing to advance our reputation for excellence and to ensure that we meet the needs of our solicitor clients and the Court. The bespoke training programme that we are now offering to our expert panel has been carefully curated to ensure that it is relevant, responsive to expert queries and to trends from the Court and suitable for experts of all levels of experience. The commitment that Speed Medical has made to training and investing into both our expert panel and our staff is a testament to the company’s determination to maintain our market-leading position in setting standards and to ensuring that the parties and the Court have access to expert evidence that is of the highest quality.
Q: Outside of work, what’s something people would be surprised to know about you?
Answer: I am related to an Oscar-winning actress and a former Deputy Prime Minister….
Q: What advice would you give to someone looking to follow a similar career path in law, clinical practice, or medico-legal work?
Answer: If you are a lawyer at the start of your career and want to work in an area that will have a direct impact on people’s lives, whilst providing real challenge and interest and the opportunity to learn a huge amount from a medical perspective, then catastrophic injury is definitely a field to explore. And if you’re a clinician looking to explore whether medico-legal work is right for you, or an experienced expert looking for a change and for a company that will support you and facilitate your development – contact us here at Speed Medical and we’d be delighted to talk to you!
We’re so excited to have Miriam on board and look forward to the impact she will make in strengthening our commitment to clinical and professional excellence.
