EWI Chief Executive Officer, Simon Berney-Edwards, shares his thoughts on 2023, a year where Expert Witnesses have continued to come under increasing scrutiny.
We invited The Honourable Mr Justice Williams, High Court judge and chair of The Family Justice Council Subcommittee on Experts, to share his views on criticism.
We provide suggestions for Expert Witnesses who need to ensure that their reports remain within the 20 page limit. UPDATED 17th October
The second amendment updates the declaration of truth used in expert reports.
Important changes to the length of expert reports are being brought in from the 1st October 2023 for cases being dealt with through the newly created intermediate track.
“How not to prepare an expert report”
“When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir” (John Maynard Keynes)
“Engineering opinion on loss of consciousness”
“The importance of the medical records”
“A negligent failure to perform a costotransversectomy?” The detail of this judgment will be of interest to neurosurgeons and spinal surgeons. However, particularly as the judgment quotes C v North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust [2014] Med. L.R. 189 which gives meaning to the adjectives ‘responsible’, ‘competent’ and ‘respectable’ in Bolitho, this is a useful judgment to have to hand when preparing a report in a case of alleged clinical negligence.
This judgment illustrates how expert reports which are properly prepared can assist a decision-maker without the need for oral evidence. It also shows how thoroughly the court will analyse expert evidence as to risk.
“Referring to the Protocol gives the game away”
The case of CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust makes essential reading for Expert Witnesses.
Benjamin Scarcliffe v Brampton Valley Group Ltd [2023] EWHC 1565(KB) provides important direction and lessons to be learned for Expert Witnesses
Recent case demonstrates how your credibility can be affected before you have even stepped into the court room.
Judges have sent a ‘note of caution’ to legal teams after receiving ‘thousands of pages of detailed experts’ reports’.
In cross-examination and at the close of the case, a searing attack on the expert's approach to expert evidence and independence was launched. The judge viewed many of the criticisms as well-founded.
“To amend or not to amend, that is the question”
In this interview from 2019, Penny Cooper talks to James Badenoch KC about his views on writing excellent Expert Reports.
Advice notes are provided to members of the Expert Witness Institute in support of their work. They represent the Institute’s view of good practice in a particular area, and members are not obliged to follow them. They do not constitute legal or professional advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for it. Whilst care has been taken to ensure that they are accurate, up to date, and useful, The Expert Witness Institute will not accept any legal liability in relation to them. If specific advice or information is required, then a suitably qualified professional should be consulted.