Vitor Castro

Solicitor, Shook, Hardy & Bacon International LLP

Vitor is a dual qualified attorney (England & Wales and Brazil) experienced in handling commercial disputes, class actions, mediation and domestic and international arbitration, in addition to advising clients on regulatory issues and internal investigations in Europe and Latin America.

Before joining Shook, Vitor spent more than 15 years in a leading Brazilian law firm handling complex cross-border commercial disputes for clients from various industries. He has led the trial of many relevant cases with a track record of positive outcomes, particularly dealing with product liability litigation for multinational companies. Vitor has also spent time at a magic circle firm in London assisting the disputes team on commercial disputes and regulatory investigations.

Vitor is a human rights advocate and served for 10 years at the free legal aid service at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), promoting workshops on human rights and representing clients in courts to avoid violation of fundamental rights. Moreover, Vitor is enthusiastic about D&I initiatives and has assisted several law firms and companies to develop D&I guidelines.

Contributed to

2

Product liability and defective products

Practice notes

This Practice Note summarises the law on product liability and defective products under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (CPA 1987). CPA 1987 imposes liability on producers of defective products. This Practice Note considers what constitutes a defective product under CPA 1987, who in the supply chain may be liable, their degree of liability and any contributory negligence issues, the type of damages that may be awarded and the various defences available to a producer. It considers significant case law impacting the definition of defect and burden of liability under CPA 1987 as provided for in Wilkes v DePuy and Colin Gee v DePuy and also considers the plans for future reform in this area.

Commercial

Statutory product safety regime

Practice notes

This Practice Note explains the statutory product safety regime in the UK, covering civil and criminal liability under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (CPA 1987), the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (GPSR 2005) and the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA 1974). It considers emerging case law impacting the definition of defect and burden of liability under the CPA 1987 as provided for in Wilkes v DePuy and Colin Gee v DePuy.

Commercial