Henk Soede

Henk is regularly instructed to act in a wide range of construction disputes. His practice includes claims relating to payment disputes, delay, building safety defects and various other forms of defective performance. He is recognised as a “rising star” for Professional Negligence (Legal 500, 2025) and most of his work in this area relates to construction professionals. Henk is currently writing a book on the Defective Premises Act 1972 and the Building Safety Act 2022 and he is very familiar with the key provisions in those statutes. He welcomes the opportunity to give seminars on (amongst other topical issues) remediation orders, remediation contribution orders, building liability orders and liability for construction (including cladding) products. Henk also has significant experience dealing with complex expert evidence (both in the construction and other contexts) and he is often instructed in cases involving difficult technical issues.

Selected Cases

• Acting for a developer in a claim (c. £2m) against an employer’s agent for breach of a collateral warranty and a failure to identify various types of patent defects during the course of development works (sole Counsel).
• Acting for the owner of five residential blocks (c. 150 flats) in a multi-party building defect claim (c. £10m+) (which includes a claim against a major insulation manufacturer pursuant to s. 149 of the BSA 2022) (led by Lynne McAfferty KC).
• Acting for an architectural services provider in the defence of a claim (c. £800k) relating to the allegedly negligent design of a care home (sole counsel).
• Acting for the employer, developer and owner of a residential development (c. 50 flats) in a claim relating to the defective design and installation of (inter alia) the external wall systems (£7m+) (sole Counsel).
• Acting for a main contractor in the enforcement of an adjudication award (c. £800k) in the TCC (full recovery achieved shortly before the hearing of an urgent application for a freezing order) (sole Counsel).
• Acting for the employer in adjudication proceedings relating to major fire safety defects in a residential development (c. £5m+) (sole Counsel).
• Acting in a claim arising from the collapse of a wall during the construction of an annex to a building, with the collapse and associated damage implicating (inter alia) the structural stability of adjacent residential premises.

Henk is ranked as a “rising star” in professional negligence (Legal 500, 2025). He has experience of claims brought against a range of professionals, including builders, architects, employer’s agents, structural engineers, public authorities and legal professionals. In claims arising from litigation, he is particularly well-equipped to advise in cases where the underlying claim relates to one or more of his core practice areas. Henk is very familiar with the law on duties of care, assumptions of responsibility and loss of chance and he welcomes the opportunity to give seminars on these (and other) topics.

Selected Cases

• Acting and advising in various building defect claims (c. £2m) involving alleged professional negligence on the part of contractors and/or architects.
• Acting for and advising homeowners in claims arising from the withdrawal of natural rights of support and/or interference with accrued rights of support.
• Acting on behalf of a law firm in a claim relating to cost assessments under the Solicitors Act 1975 (including at an oral application for permission to appeal).
• Acting for a defendant police force in a claim involving an alleged assumption of responsibility for a valuable consignment of goods in the exercise of police functions and an allegedly negligent failure to safeguard those goods (claim dismissed following a seven-day trial, led by Laura Johnson KC).
• Advising on issues arising from the settlement of a personal injury claim (c. £200K) and advice given in relation to a liability to re-pay monies received pursuant to a statutory compensation scheme (sole counsel).
• Advising the in-house professional liability department of a large national law firm on a range of claims intimated against it by its former clients.
• Acting on behalf of a law firm in claim arising from an allegedly negligent failure to advise on a likely encroachment onto neighbouring property during a conveyancing process and associated losses relating to cost of rectification and litigation expenses.

Henk’s practice spans the full spectrum of personal injury law, including employer and occupier liabilities; product liability; public liability; psychiatric injuries; and vicarious liability. He has been ranked by the legal directories as a “rising star” in this area for several years. Henk has particular experience in claims involving injuries sustained abroad, whether on holiday, in the workplace, or in the maritime and aviation contexts. His practice includes disputes relating to jurisdiction and foreign applicable law.

Henk also has significant experience in claims involving suspected fraud or dishonesty. His experience in this area covers both low-value fast-track claims (where, e.g., the issue is one of complete fabrication) and high-value multi-track claims (where, e.g., there is a serious injury in combination with substantial and conscious exaggeration). He has been recognised in the legal directories for being “very good on cross-examination” and frequently obtains findings of FD on behalf of his Clients.

Selected Cases

• ST v BAI (SA) T/A Brittany Ferries [2022] EWCA Civ 1037 (extension of time for service of the claim form in a claim arising from an alleged sexual assault on a cruise ship).
• Acting for a tour operator in a hypoxic brain injury claim (valued at over £8m) arising out of a drowning accident at a Spanish hotel (led by Sarah Prager KC).
• Acting for the defendant in an employer’s liability claim (c.£800k) involving alleged trauma-induced fibromyalgia and pleaded allegations of fundamental dishonesty (claim discontinued shortly before a three-day trial) (sole counsel).
• Stait v Cosmos Insurance Limited Cyprus [2022] EWCA Civ 1429 (test for domicile in the context of Regulation (EC) No. 1215/2013).
• Piepenbrock v LSE & Ors [2022] EWHC 2421 (KB) (assisting Laura Johnson KC).
• Acting in a claim (c. €300k) arising from an RTA in France which involved complex issues of quantum under French law (sole counsel).
• Acting for c. 250 individuals in a group action (c.+£3m) relating to an outbreak of cyclospora at various hotels in the Riviera Maya (led by Bruce Sylvester).
• Acting for the child claimant in a brain injury claim arising out of a fall from height outside her social housing accommodation (sole counsel).

Henk frequently acts in property damage claims brought in nuisance, negligence, contract and pursuant to statute. His practice in this area is complimented by his experience in construction, professional liability, insurance and product liability.

Selected Cases

• Advising on group of claims relating to property damage caused to residential premises due to a defective product component.
• Acting for a water supply company in a claim involving allegedly catastrophic flooding damage to residential premises, with the flooding allegedly caused by defective non-return valves in a surface water drainage system.
• Acting for a local authority in a claim arising from flooding damage allegedly caused by water discharge from a highway drainage system.
• Acting for an individual in a claim arising from an interference with an easement of support and the partial collapse of a residential property.
• Acting for managing agents in a claim involving an alleged rodent infestation in a residential development and resulting property damage and loss of rental income.
• Acting for an individual in a claim involving alleged interference with a natural right of support and structural damage to property.
• Acting for an individual in a claim against his insurer following a housefire and property damage caused by failed attempts at repairing his roof.
• Acting in a claim relating to the collapse of a retaining wall during the construction of a rear extension, with the collapse resulting in the death of one of the construction workers and the structural stability of the main premises being undermined.
• Acting for the subrogated insurer in a claim relating to ground fill works which allegedly caused a landslip and associated cracking and structural damage to neighbouring properties.
• Acting in a claim arising from an allegedly defective component in a lorry which was said to have short circuited and caused fire damage to commercial premises, which allegedly caused (inter alia) various business interruption losses.

Henk has experience of a range of commercial disputes, including those arising from the sale of goods and services (b2b and b2c), agency agreements, indemnity agreements, force majeure, unjust enrichment and contribution claims. He also has experience of freezing injunctions, disputed charging orders, Part 71 applications and other matters relating to enforcement of debts (including where there are issues of insolvency). Henk is very familiar with the conflict of laws (including jurisdictional and applicable law issues) and he is well-equipped to act in claims which have an international dimension. Henk authored chapter 1 (“regulated travel arrangements’) and chapter 11 (“security and insolvency”) of Saggerson on Travel Law and Litigation (7^th Ed) and he is often instructed in cases which have a travel regulatory angle.

Selected Cases

• Acting for the defendant in a claim involving an alleged assumption of responsibility for a valuable consignment of branded sportswear and an allegedly negligent failure to safeguard those goods following the arrest of the freight forwarder’s agent (claim dismissed following a seven-day trial, led by Laura Johnson KC).
• Acting for an aircraft charterer in a contractual dispute with a major airline operator (c.$300k) arising from a failure to perform commercial flights and alleged force majeure.
• Acting for the claimant in arbitral proceedings (c. €360k) relating to the proper construction of an agency agreement (sole counsel).
• Acting for a well-known luxury travel business in a contractual dispute (c. $850k) relating to the Titanic submersible expedition operated by OceanGate Inc (sole counsel).
• Acting for a tour operator in a claim for an indemnity (c. £8m) under an agency agreement entered with a foreign supplier of accommodation services.
• Acting for the defendant in a group action relating to alleged service failures at a resort developed by entities associated with David Ames (sole counsel).
• Acting for an insurer in a group action (c. £10m) relating to the termination of holiday contracts during the covid-19 pandemic (led by Sarah Prager KC).
• Acting for a judgment creditor in the enforcement of an adjudication award (c.£800k) (full recovery achieved shortly before the hearing of a freezing order) (sole counsel).
• Acting for a boiler manufacturer in proceedings relating to the enforcement of an arbitration award under the Arbitration Act 1996 and whether the order for recovery should be set aside.

Henk has experience of claims brought pursuant to the Consumer Protection Act 1987, in contract and in tort. His knowledge of private international law means he is well-equipped to advise in cases where there are issues of jurisdiction or applicable law. Henk has a particular interest in claims relating to construction products brought pursuant to the Building Safety Act 2022.

Selected Cases

• Advising pre-action on multi-party contribution proceedings relating to a defective pipe component which caused property damage to various residential premises.
• Acting in a complex personal claim arising from the sudden explosion of a family’s motor vehicle when driving on the highway (sole Counsel).
• Acting for a developer in multi-party proceedings which includes a claim brought pursuant to section 149 of the BSA 2022 (liability in relation to cladding products).
• Acting for the defendant in a claim for personal injuries caused by alleged product defects in a wheelchair (sole Counsel).
• Acting in a claim arising from an allegedly defective component in a lorry which was said to have short circuited and caused fire damage to commercial premises, which allegedly caused (inter alia) various business interruption losses.

The vast majority of Henk’s work involves insurers, and he is familiar with the sorts of issues which arise in the insurance context. In particular, he has experience of disputes relating to policy avoidance, coverage and subrogation. Henk has also been instructed to act in subrogated recoveries across his key practice areas.

Selected Cases

• Advising an insurer on its rights of subrogation and their limits in the context of a portfolio of proposed claims with an aggregate value of +£5m.
• Acting for a developer in a coverage dispute (+£5m) under a Building Defects Insurance Policy (the underlying defects relating to alleged deficiencies in the external wall system of a residential development).
• Acting for an individual in a claim arising from a housefire, which involved, inter alia, a coverage dispute and (after acceptance of coverage) an alleged failure by the insurer to perform its obligations under the policy.
• Advising on the proper interpretation of a Contractors All Risk policy and the availability of a coverage defence in the context of a claim brought directly by a third-party under the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010.

Henk has experience of a wide variety of clinical negligence claims, including those concerning delayed diagnosis of cancer, failures to obtain informed consent, urology, colorectal surgeries, injuries at birth, and missed orthopaedic diagnosis. He is familiar with the sorts of issues which can arise in claims brought pursuant to the Fatal Accidents Act.

Selected Cases

• Acting for an NHS Trust in a claim relating to an allegedly negligent failure to diagnose an APC fracture. Claim discontinued shortly before a 3-day trial.
• Acting for a private healthcare provider in a claim arising from an allegedly negligent surgery which was said to have caused, inter alia, permanent injuries to the bowel (settled within advised parameters at a JSM).
• Acting for an NHS Trust in a claim arising from an allegedly negligent failure to risk-stratify a urothelial carcinoma and various associated failures to advise the patient on, inter alia, the need for a nephroureterectomy.
• Acting for an NHS Trust in a claim arising from allegedly negligent care which was said to have resulted in a patient’s death and which included a novel claim to recover a pre-paid care package valued at £180k.
• Advising on the issue of non-delegable duties in the prison healthcare context.