Colin Holburn is an EWI fellow, governor and founding member. A consultant in accident and emergency medicine, he has been practising as an Expert Witness for over 30 years. He tells us why he still loves Expert work and shares his advice for those interested in getting into the field.

The defendant made an application for adjournment on the proposition that it could not be ready for trial because its experts required additional time to complete their reports. However, it was unable to demonstrate that it would be unfair to proceed with the existing trial.  

The Government has published its response to the consultation it ran from 18 July to 10 October 2023 on 'Revisions to the Medical Reporting Process for Road Traffic Accident Claims’. The report setting out the government's response summarises the responses received, along with information on the decisions taken and the next steps in relation to implementing outcomes related to the policy proposals consulted upon.

The Government is also engaging with stakeholders until 31 January 2025 on one of its next steps, further revisions to the fixed cost medical reports. 

In the 8th episode of the Expert Matters Podcast, we discuss re-evaluating your opinion. We look at possible reasons why you might wish to re-evaluate your opinion and the stages in the proceedings where re-evaluation is most likely to occur, before hearing from three senior judges on how re-evaluating your opinion can sometimes be positive for your expert evidence, but may also be disastrous. 

A psychiatrist whose evidence had often been admitted in capacity cases was assisted in this case of a hearing-impaired person by an interpreter who had British Sign Language (BSL) Level 1 training. Her assessment was subsequently criticised as she conducted the assessment without ‘suitable specialist learning support’.

For psychiatrists and psychologists, the case illustrates the importance, in the case of some hearing-impaired subjects, of being assisted, or of the assessment being carried out, by a psychologist or psychiatrist who has experience of the assessment and treatment of hearing-disabled people.

Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council v KZ (Rev1) [2024] EWCOP 72 (T3) 

The Family Procedure Rule Committee has approved a proposal to roll-out the family court reporting pilot nationally, through changes to the Family Procedure Rules and new practice directions. The new reporting provisions will apply in all family courts in England and Wales from Monday 27 January 2025.

The Transparency Reporting Pilot for Financial Remedy Proceedings will be rolled out nationally from 29 january 2025, having been extended until 29 January 2026. 

This is an important judgment for experts who prepare personal injury reports in the Republic of Ireland but also for all experts, in all of the jurisdictions in the British Isles, for its description of the judicial analysis of expert evidence. It deals with procedure in Ireland for the instruction of specialist medical experts through plaintiffs’ general practitioners.   

Lynch v Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland [2024] IEHC 587 

The Appellant was given permission to change neurology experts after the judge found that the application was not so late as to be prejudicial to the Respondents, and that the Appellant was not engaging in expert shopping.

The new Practice Direction of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal came into force on 1 November 2024. The Practice Direction makes several changes to how appeals should be prepared.

Dr Linnell received the award for services to Justice.