An ounce of reasoning is worth a pound of opinion An ounce of reasoning is worth a pound of opinion

An ounce of reasoning is worth a pound of opinion

The defendants denied the validity of a will on the grounds that the testatrix lacked testamentary capacity. The judge found that the conclusion of...
Review of Guidance for the instruction of experts in civil claims Review of Guidance for the instruction of experts in civil claims

Review of Guidance for the instruction of experts in civil claims

The Civil Justice Council (‘CJC’) is intending to review its ‘Guidance for the instruction of experts in civil claims’ with a...
Update on EWI Advocacy Update on EWI Advocacy

Update on EWI Advocacy

One of the key roles of the Expert Witness Institute (‘EWI’) is to ensure that policy, rule and regulatory changes are informed by the...
Legal Aid: Experts' Fees Legal Aid: Experts' Fees

Legal Aid: Experts' Fees

This case is of obvious importance to experts authorised by the Family Court to be instructed in public law proceedings but it has implications for...
An expert report that is entirely equivocal on the key issues is of little assistance to... An expert report that is entirely equivocal on the key issues is of little assistance to...

An expert report that is entirely equivocal on the key issues is of little assistance to...

The court noted that the jointly instructed expert demonstrated a clear lack of understanding of both CPR 35 and the duties owed to the court by an...
EWI Annual Conference 2025: Opening keynote looks at how to be a witness as well as an... EWI Annual Conference 2025: Opening keynote looks at how to be a witness as well as an...

EWI Annual Conference 2025: Opening keynote looks at how to be a witness as well as an...

Podcast Episode 13: Long-Standing Policy Issues Podcast Episode 13: Long-Standing Policy Issues

Podcast Episode 13: Long-Standing Policy Issues

In the 13th episode of the Expert Matters Podcast, we look at five long-standing policy issues that have had significant developments recently: (1)...

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News

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Consent – post-Montgomery
Case Updates

Consent – post-Montgomery

Although this is a dental/maxillofacial negligence case, it is of importance for all healthcare experts instructed in cases where consent may be an issue. It highlights points about which experts should enquire when there may be an issue as to consent to a surgical or other procedure. In this case it was found that the consent process was deficient in a number of respects. It is also a case which illustrates how expert evidence can separately assist the court on the issues of breach of duty, causation, condition and prognosis.

Winterbotham v Shahrak (Rev1) [2024] EWHC 2633 (KB) 

NHS Resolution announces new Clinical Negligence Claims Agreement 2024
News

NHS Resolution announces new Clinical Negligence Claims Agreement 2024

NHS have announced the implementation of a new Clinical Negligence Claims Agreement for 2024. The agreement builds on the Covid-19 Clinical Negligence Protocol established in 2020 with the aim of improving claims management practices. Members who act in clinical negligence cases should note the new agreement, although it does not directly affect expert witnesses. 

Shally v Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust [2023] EWHC 1304 (KB)
Case Updates

Shally v Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust [2023] EWHC 1304 (KB)

“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. 

Darrell Stewart Jones v Ministry of Defence [2020] EWHC 1603 (QB), 2020 WL 03415114
Case Updates

Darrell Stewart Jones v Ministry of Defence [2020] EWHC 1603 (QB), 2020 WL 03415114

Relevance:       General

                        Clinical negligence                       

Topics:            Life expectancy

                        Delayed diagnosis

                        HIV

                        Causation