In her judgment on X and Y (Care Proceedings: Fact Finding: Death of a Child), the Judge was highly critical of the evidence and conduct during proceedings of one of the expert witnesses, a consultant neurosurgeon, Mr M. This judgment, which should be read alongside the earlier judgment, dealt with whether Mr M should be named within that published judgment.

This year’s Annual Conference discussed AI, independence, credibility, transparency and the changing expectations on expert witnesses.

This month on the Expert Matters Podcast, we take a look at the EWI Annual Conference which was held on 19 June. The Conference got off to a great start with a keynote speech on AI & the Expert Witness by Sir Geoffrey Vos, the Master of the Rolls, and carried on with great speakers and panels. Join us on a trip down memory lane as we relive our key highlights from the event. 

The decision in Evie Toombes v Dr Mitchell [2021] EWHC 3234 (QB) offers important lessons for expert witnesses across all disciplines. Although the case arose from a routine primary care consultation on pre-conception folic acid advice, the legal principles extend well beyond general practice. The case centred on an apparently straightforward clinical encounter that raised significant issues of duty of care, foreseeability, causation, and the standard of care. 

For expert witnesses, the judgment reinforced the importance of objective, evidence based opinions, careful analysis of contemporaneous records, and clear reasoning. 

Shaun Hesmondhalgh has been an Expert Witness since 2016, specialising in cases involving dog welfare, dangerous dog behaviour, and dog-related human fatalities. He tells us about how he became an Expert Witness, the importance of industry experience over academic qualifications, and why his expertise is more in demand than ever.

This was a fact finding hearing into the death of a young child. The Judge found that the neurologist expert witness failed to discharge his duties as an expert witness to the family court.

The Legal Aid Agency ('LAA') has issued Guidance on the Remuneration of Expert Witnesses in Crime Cases.

Although the detail of this judgment is for diabetologists and gastroenterologists it is of general interest with regard to its treatment of statistical evidence, reliance on odds ratios and relative risk ratios and the position taken by the court on the relationship between the civil standard of proof and confidence intervals.

Alexander v HCA International Ltd [2026] EWHC 1284 (KB) 

The Family Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2026 amend the Family Procedure Rules 2010 to restrict unregulated experts from acting as expert witnesses in Family Law Children Proceedings. The amendments come into force on 20 July 2026.

The claimant sought damages amounting to the difference between the £16.9 million contract sale price from a failed house sale and the sum ultimately obtained for the property of £10.1 million, less that £2.5 million forfeited deposit. After finding the expert evidence compromised by the information provided to the experts, the judge set out a better approach to expert evidence in property valuation.