The Claimant alleged that an accident five years earlier was the cause of the amputation of his lower leg. The judge criticised the Claimant’s orthopaedic expert, Professor H, for demonstrating at times a rather ‘loose approach’ to his expert evidence and a closed mindedness towards his evidence.

The Civil Procedure Rule Committee is undertaking a consultation regarding the effectiveness of the extension of Fixed Recoverable Costs (FRC), inviting feedback as part of an evidence-gathering initiative conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). You can input into the EWI response by completing a survey of the consultation questions. 

Today is the start of the 24th UK Pro Bono Week. In this extra edition of the Expert Matters Podcast we discuss the EWI's recent Partnership with the Pro Bono Expert Support Scheme with Emily Sherratt, Project Director of the National Pro Bono Centre, and James Goldsmith KC from One Essex Court. Find out about acting as a Pro Bono Expert Witness under the Scheme, how it works, the benefits, and how you can get involved if you are interested. 

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.

One of the key roles of the Expert Witness Institute (‘EWI’) is to ensure that policy, rule and regulatory changes are informed by the experience of our members, and the needs of the expert witness community and the wider justice system. In this update, we discuss policy developments and our advocacy work over the last few months.   

The Annual Sir Michael Davies Lecture for 2025 was held on 15 October at the RAF Club in London. The Right Honourable Lady Simler, Justice of the Supreme Court, delivered an insightful lecture on Enhancing Expert Evidence: Reports, Opinions, and Judicial Perspectives, which was summed up perfectly by EWI Chair Sir Martin Spencer as the blueprint for providing the best written and oral expert evidence.

The Claimants alleged that dust, noise and odour emitted by the defendant’s factory over a prolonged period constituted a legal nuisance. The judge was critical of the Claimants’ experts for departing from the initial common approach when the initial results had been adverse to their clients’ case.

October 10th is World Mental Health Day and in this month's episode of the Expert Matters Podcast, we look at the issue of wellbeing and resilience as an expert witness. We discuss some learnings from recent judgments, have a really insightful talk with EWI member and Clinical Psychologist Dr Claire Wilson, before hearing advice from the members of EWI's Editorial Committee. You can also catch our 'What's going on at EWI' and 'Newsreel' segments to keep up-to-date on the latest developments in the world of expert witnesses and expert evidence. 

You can listen to Episode 17 of the Expert Matters Podcast on a number of podcast apps, including spotify and apple podcasts. If you can't find the podcast on your favourite app, let us know at expertmatters@ewi.org.uk.

The person insured by the defendant drove his motorcycle into the pursuer’s parked lorry causing the pursuer, who claimed he was standing on the steps of the lorry on one foot and leaning on the cab, to allegedly lose his balance and suffer injuries. The defendant led an expert witness, Mr H, who presented himself as a Forensic Engineer, and the pursuer an Orthopaedic expert, Mr S. 

The Sherrif concluded that he could not afford Mr H’s conclusions more than minimal weight because of a failure of methodology. Mr H had also expressed his conclusions in terms that gave the appearance that he was the decision-maker and made concessions during cross-examination. The Sherrif found Mr S to be a credible and reliable witness overall but noted that he was not clear when describing his fee arrangements. 

Resolve Medicolegal and EWI held our annual Scottish Medicolegal Conference at the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow on 19 September. The event featured great speakers and panels and lots of interaction with the audience of expert witnesses and legal professionals. It was a brilliant Conference so, with a number of the EWI team attending, we thought we’d note some of our key highlights.