Summary

The Claimant’s father and litigation friend alleged that the medical practitioners treating his son were negligent in not promptly carrying out an ultrasound on his head, after he had been admitted to hospital with head injuries. The judge found that the expert for the Claimant was, to an extent, seeking to fight his corner rather than taking a dispassionate approach to the issues raised.

Learning points for experts

• You must not advocate for your client.

• Making reasonable concessions may enhance the weight of your expert evidence, but there will be a point where the scale and significance of concessions undermine the level of confidence in what remains of your evidence.

• Always listen carefully to the question you have been asked, and answer only that question, not the question you wish you had been asked. You will find this point among the excellent practical advice for giving oral evidence which the Right Honourable Lady Simler, Justice of the Supreme Court shared in her recent Sir Michael Davies Lecture to the EWI.

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