"Work within your expertise. Remember that you are independent – and don’t be bullied by solicitors!"

It’s National Smile Month, the UK’s charity campaign championing the benefits of having good oral health. So, it seemed only fitting to talk to Dr Brian Franks: dentist, facial aesthetics practitioner and trainer, medico-legal expert, and EWI fellow. He tells us about his experience as an Expert Witness and why he loves what he does.

One of my patients introduced me to Expert Witness work.

I’ve been a medico-legal expert since 1997. I set out on this path when one of my dental patients was involved in a legal case and asked if his lawyer could instruct me. Through that introduction, further instructions followed which made me realise that I needed to undertake appropriate, recognised training.

Expert Witness work is one part of work I undertake.

Over the past 20 years or so, I’ve been Bupa’s Clinical Director of Dentistry and the Clinical Lead and Senior Lecturer on the MSc in Facial Aesthetics at the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Central Lancashire.

At present, I’m the Co-Producer & Programme Clinical Director of the MSc in The Specialist Practice of Clinical Aesthetic Non-Surgical Interventions, City of London Dental School/University of Bolton, and visiting professor, The City of London Dental School for the MSc programmes, University of Bolton.

I’m also the Principal of Dr Brian Franks Medical Aesthetic Training: an independent professional development, educational, and training provider for the aesthetics industry.

Additionally, I’m an associate of the General Dental Council, being a panel member of the Private Patients Complaint Service, and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

My Expert Witness instructions are varied.

The majority of my instructions relate to the claimant and I’m instructed to provide expert evidence for a wide range of cases: anything from clinical negligence to road traffic accidents, sporting injuries, accidents at work, and high-profile corporate cases.

Although I enjoy working on all cases, some can be very sobering – for example, in child abuse related cases and where deaths have occurred (to children and adults) in car and workplace accidents. But whatever the circumstances, I’m very conscious to remain neutral and focused on my expertise as a general dental practitioner.

Expert work has its challenges.

Key challenges include: having to sift through hundreds – sometimes thousands – of pages of records that don’t have any relevance to my involvement in the case; receiving unclear instruction; trying to piece together evidence from a sparsity of records; being given extremely short timelines to prepare additional reports and/or supply information; and trying to decipher illegible hand written notes!

However, these challenges don’t detract from the enjoyment I get when working as an Expert Witness – I feel as though I need to take on the character of Poirot or Maigret! There is also a feeling of accomplishment when cases are settled in favour of the clients whose solicitors have instructed me.

A big benefit of providing medico-legal expertise is…

The great flexibility in doing the work.

A frustrating aspect of the work is…

Not receiving payments from some instructing solicitors and agencies by the due dates!

The cases I’m instructed usually get settled out of court.

I have had many counsel meetings in chambers and via video conferencing, but to date I’ve not been required to actually attend court.

However, I have had to diarise court appearances, some of them well over a year in the future and it’s certainly ‘challenging’ to book out time slots that far in advance! But it’s all part and parcel of being a medico-legal expert. 

While I’ve not made a court appearance, I have undertaken training in court appearances to be prepared if and when the situation arises. I would also advise to continually update training, especially to keep abreast of any changes to the court rules, and be knowledgeable of the court etiquette.

Remember your independence and keep within your expertise.

Whether you’re being instructed by the claimant’s or defendant’s solicitors, it is important to remember that as an independent expert, our ‘official’ reports are addressed to the court. Also, only accept instructions within your specific expertise, and if you believe that an opinion is required from an additional expert then advise the instructing solicitors accordingly.      

I feel privileged to be a Fellow of the Expert Witness Institute and to have their support.