A leading solicitor has been appointed Assistant Coroner for North West Wales.

Kate Sutherland was officially sworn in this week following the approval of the Chief Coroner and Lord Chancellor.

The part-time role will see Kate support the region’s senior coroner, Dewi Pritchard-Jones, in recording and investigating sudden, unexpected and violent deaths in Anglesey and Gwynedd.

Kate is a director and Head of the Injury and Medical Negligence Department at Gamlins Law. She lives in Denbigh and is also Chair of Governors at Denbigh High School.

A fluent Welsh speaker, Kate is a contributor to BBC Radio Cymru on legal and educational matters.

Kate said: “I am delighted to have been appointed to the prestigious role of Assistant Coroner for North West Wales.

“The selection process was extremely thorough and I am looking forward to taking up my new responsibilities.

“It is a part-time role which means I will be continuing with my other roles at Gamlins Law.”

Last year, Kate’s injury and medical negligence team recovered more than £1.2million in damages for clients.

Gamlins Law solicitors have handled cases including fatal road traffic accidents, some involving cyclists, brain injuries, serious and life changing orthopaedic injuries, psychiatric

injuries, delay in cancer diagnoses and care home and hospital abuse.

The team regularly secures damages to assist in several ways, including ensuring future private care, future private treatment costs and new accommodation costs.

They have also represented families at inquests for injuries and in medical negligence cases where fatalities occurred at hospital or shortly after discharge. Kate and other members

of her team are able to advise clients in English or Welsh.

Gamlins Law has six offices in Rhyl, Abergele, Denbigh, Holywell, Ruthin and Mold. The firm celebrates its 130th anniversary in 2019.