Carla Duprey

Biography

Carla is a senior associate solicitor in the clinical negligence department.

Carla joined Stephensons in February 2006 as a graduate paralegal in the clinical negligence department. She initially assisted the head of the department with her complex clinical negligence claims (mainly cerebral palsy claims). In September 2007, she was then given her own small caseload.

As soon as Carla started working on clinical negligence claims, she knew that she definitely wanted to become a solicitor and that clinical negligence would be the area that she specialised in. Carla subsequently began her training contract in March 2010 and qualified as a solicitor in the clinical negligence department in March 2012.

Carla is a member of the Law Society's Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme. She is also dually qualified and is an admitted attorney in New York State.

Clinical negligence claims can be quite complicated. You will know from when you have had medical treatment that the language doctors use is not always clear and you can sometimes be unsure about what treatment you need and why. Many of Carla's clients also have long-term health problems, which can make the whole process more stressful and confusing. Through her role as a solicitor she can help clients to understand the medical jargon, the medical treatment that they have received and help to ease any stress or confusion.

A lot of Carla's clients have not been told, or do not understand, what has happened with their medical treatment and why it has gone wrong. For some clients an explanation of what has happened is all that they are looking for. A key part of Carla's role is therefore trying to get her clients the answers that they deserve.

She also gets the opportunity to help people when they are going through difficult times in their lives. She listens to people’s problems and appreciates that as a result of poor medical treatment, clients can suffer from a variety of issues i.e. a change in their abilities, losing their job, difficulties paying their bills etc. Carla therefore believes that a key part of her job as a solicitor is to provide support to her clients and to try and get their lives back on track as much as possible.

Carla has a varied caseload dealing with claims concerning surgery, orthopaedics, gynaecology, delays in diagnosis, birth injuries and neurological injuries.

Carla was recognised as a key lawyer in the field of clinical negligence by the 2023 edition of The Legal 500.

Cases of interest

Since 2007, Carla has personally obtained around £38 million in compensation for her clients. The following are examples of some of her claims:

• Carla settled a claim in the sum of £362,500 for a client who received inappropriate treatment for a spinal infection, which resulted in the infection spreading to their heart.
• Carla settled a claim in the sum of £400,000 for a client who received inappropriate treatment for a fractured finger, which led to an amputation.
• Carla settled a claim in the sum of £4.1 million for a client who had inappropriate treatment for a heart condition as a child, leading to a brain injury.
• Carla settled a claim for £27.4 million for the delay in diagnosing and treating a client who had herpes simplex virus, which lead to a brain injury - Read more.
• Carla settled a claim for £600,000 for a client who suffered damage to their eye following sinus surgery.
• Carla settled a claim for £363,730 for a client who had a left below knee amputation and three toes amputated from their right foot as a result of failures in managing diabetic ulcers.
• Carla settled a wrongful birth claim for £165,000 arising out of a failure to diagnose features on ultrasound scans that should have led to a diagnosis of brain abnormalities.

What others say

‘Carla Duprey and the whole team were amazing.’ - Legal 500, 2023

"Carla Duprey is ‘on the ball and very efficient’." - Legal 500, 2018

"Carla is ‘very caring and efficient’" - UK Legal 500, 2017

"I cannot fault the communication and attention to detail in dealing with my case I’ve received from Carla. I will definitely be using Stephensons for my future needs." - View from a satisfied client

"I'm so pleased to have had the pleasure of being a client of Stephensons solicitors, Carla has been fantastic, Ive always had questions answered and always had things explained so I could understand, Carla and her assistant hollie have always been polite, caring, and kept me updated all the time, very professional and i really couldn't of asked for better. Carla is lovely and understanding." - View from a satisfied client

“For several years Carla was the main point of contact and became the font of knowledge in our case. Her approachability, listening skills and speed of reacting in a sometimes fast moving and complex case are a credit to your company.” - View from a satisfied client

"Stephensons, especially Carla, have been excellent thought out my negligence case. Making sure that I am updated in the progress of the claim and also that I understand everything that I have been told. Over the past 2-3 years they have been very helpful and I couldn't have asked for better solicitors and I was successful in my clinical negligence claim. Thank you Stephensons." - View from a satisfied client

"The claimant suffered devastating brain injuries over 25 years ago.  He was not even two years old.  He has lived with the consequences of his injuries ever since.  He has been cared for by his parents in difficult circumstances. He requires 24 hour “double up” care.  He now has the benefit of a multi-million pound compensation package which will enable him to fund the professional care he needs, to live with his family in a suitable adapted property, to holiday and spend time with his family in the community and to enjoy the quality of life he so richly deserves. No amount of compensation will ever make up for his injuries, the loss of opportunity he has suffered or the ripple effect his injuries have had upon his parents and his wider family.  What it will do, however, is ensure that he is well cared for, that all of his needs are met and he is able to live with his family for the rest of his life.

Credit for success in this case must go first to the claimant’s parents. They never gave up in their belief that something went wrong, that their son was let down and that he deserved compensation for his injuries. Second, it must go to Stephensons. They took over the case from a previous firm of solicitors who had obtained reports from a number of experts and had advised the family that there was no case.  Few solicitors would have taken on such a difficult case in the face of a collection of negative expert reports. All of the hard work of Carla Duprey and her colleagues at Stephensons has finally enabled the claimant to access the compensation he has been waiting so long for." - Darryl Allen QC