14 July Case Updates Evie Toombes v Dr Mitchell [2021] EWHC 3234 (QB): Key Lessons for Expert Witnesses Across All Disciplines Consultation, guidance, 10. Records Assessments and Site Visits, Congenital Disabilities (Civil Liability) Act 1976, Folate The decision in Evie Toombes v Dr Mitchell [2021] EWHC 3234 (QB) offers important lessons for expert witnesses across all disciplines. Although the case arose from a routine primary care consultation on pre-conception folic acid advice, the legal principles extend well beyond general practice. The case centred on an apparently straightforward clinical encounter that raised significant issues of duty of care, foreseeability, causation, and the standard of care. For expert witnesses, the judgment reinforced the importance of objective, evidence based opinions, careful analysis of contemporaneous records, and clear reasoning.
28 January News Forensic Science Regulator Guidance on Forensic Science Activities: Interpretation and Communication guidance, forensic science regulator, 06. Rules and Regulations, Forensic science activities The Forensic Science Regulator has published new Guidance on Forensic Science Activities: Interpretation and Communication. The Guidance applies to all practitioners and sets out principles and expectations for interpretation and communications of observations from forensic science activities.
5 July News Updated guidance on the use of Psychologists as Expert Witnesses in the family courts in England and Wales Psychology, family court, guidance, British Psychological Society, regulation, 06. Rules and Regulations Joint document by the Family Justice Council and the BPS provides a set of guidelines for how to instruct expert witnesses in family proceedings.