Commentary

This is primarily a case for cardiologists, cardiac nurses and anaesthetists with a learning point for psychiatric experts. Viewed from outside the jurisdiction the striking feature of the case is that the plaintiff’s general practitioner records documenting a previous psychiatric history, which she had denied when assessed by the two psychiatric experts, were not disclosed to the defendant until five days into the trial. This gives rise to a number of questions. In Ireland it is the general practitioner who refers the plaintiff to the expert and so the first question is whether or not the general practitioner included the plaintiff’s previous psychiatric history when referring her. The second question is whether Dr Eugene Morgan, the plaintiff’s psychiatric expert, was provided with copies of her general practitioner records that included the two previous psychiatric episodes. If, as is usual practice, disclosure is limited to the three-year period preceding the accident, it would not be surprising if neither psychiatric expert was provided with the records of the events in 2004 and 2009 which were to assume some significance in the case. If this case had been litigated in England and Wales, it is unlikely that either psychiatric expert would have prepared their report without seeing the claimant’s/plaintiff’s complete general practitioner records and if there had been an experts’ discussion or meeting they would have ascertained that they had both had access to the same records.   

Learning point:

Psychiatry

• If the plaintiff denies any psychiatric history and you have been provided with their general practitioner records for only the three years prior to the accident, make it clear that without their complete pre-accident general practitioner records you are unable to verify this aspect of their history.

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