Equally an experienced personal injury solicitor, I am most fortunate in that, not simply do I get to help injured people – helping them get their lives back together again – but I as well have the privilege of preparation doctors in how to be competent dr.-legal experts – the doctors whom act in a quasi-judicial function in any personal injury or clinical negligence claim. Without these brilliant doctors – of all qualifications and specialisms – the arrangement wouldn't function.

Over the years, having instructed hundreds of doctors to provide reports on my injured clients and having taught over 100 doctors in the basics of being a medico-legal expert, the following 18 points are my acme tips (non-exhaustive), for doctors, about how to write a proficient, competent and compliant physician-legal report.

  1. If you are new to writing medico-legal reports, it is of paramount importance that y'all take read Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules and the accompanying Practise Direction which is bachelor hither. Although it is somewhat of a dry read, all experts, in any field in civil police force, must have read Role 35 before submitting any report. Insert all the formalities – such equally a statement of truth – specified by Part 35.
  2. Read the Civil Justice Council'due south 2014 communication bachelor here. All experts, regardless of their area of specialism, must have read this guidance before producing a written report.
  3. Although non compulsory reading, it is highly advisable that any new medico-legal experts read the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges report 2019 available here. This report was written in conjunction with the University for Healthcare Science, the British Dental Association, the Royal Higher of Midwives, the Royal College of Nursing and others, with confirmation from the Full general Dental Quango, Full general Medical Council, and the Nursing and Midwifery Council to name just a few of the regulatory bodies, that the advice is advisable.
  4. Cheque that your instructing solicitor- if you lot are acting on instructions from the Claimant solicitors – passes the "sniff test" i.due east. is the claim before y'all a 18-carat merits? Information technology pains me, every bit a Claimant solicitor, to point this out just it is off-white to say that there have been some sharp practices in the personal injury world for some fourth dimension. I suggest that any medical adept reads the instance here in relation to LV Insurance. In this case, due to pressure from a devious solicitor, a medical practiced felt compelled to change a prognosis from a one calendar week to an eight-month injury in lodge to increase the value of the claim. Only when an inexperienced and unqualified paralegal sent the get-go report to the court – with the one-calendar week injury specified in information technology – together with the fraudulent second study, did the fraud come to light. The md received a suspended jail sentence; the solicitor went to prison. Do not jeopardise your career for anyone.
  5. Check that you are, in fact, the right type of medical expert for this instruction. E'er work on the ground that your solicitors may have instructed you erroneously. If you think, even for a minute, that you lot are the wrong practiced, I strongly recommend that you write back to your instructing solicitors immediately. They will thank yous for information technology – I promise y'all.
  6. Do not stray into areas in which y'all have no expertise. If, say, you lot are a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, then tread very carefully – if at all – in other fields, such as in commenting on the mental country of the Claimant. You can always recommend that the Claimant is examined by a specialist in some other area of medicine.
  7. Ensure that you have appropriate medical records and any scans/discs. In law, the presumption is that for lower value claims, the less likely information technology is that medical records will be reviewed, however, if you want to see the medical records, enquire for them. Conversely, the more serious the injury, the more likelihood is it that you will need the full medical records. Furthermore, if a Claimant has been to multiple hospitals, assume that y'all have not been provided with total records. Information technology is preferable to produce a report when you have all the medical records.
  8. Ensure that your report is addressed to the court. Regardless of who is paying you lot, y'all are writing your report for the courtroom in order to assist in administration of justice. The key examination is this: would yous state a item point in your stance if the other side was paying you to do it, instead of the electric current paying party? This is the nub of information technology. If the answer is that you lot would still write the same thing, regardless of who is paying yous, yous should be fine.
  9. Although in my experience simply around 1% of claims become to trial and, furthermore, in my experience only half of those claims which go to trial required the attendance of a medical expert witness, you should e'er proceed on the ground that the case in forepart of you will go to trial.
  10. Do not accept whatsoever instructions in which you might be in a disharmonize of interest. For case, do non write a report about a Claimant whom you lot have treated. If there are any conflicts of interest, then declare them, preferably earlier seeing the Claimant, or before completing your report.
  11. Call up that Claimants are understandably nervous when they come to see you and that, if you don't ask them a relevant question, so the Claimant may non volunteer some central information. Leave no stone unturned. Revisiting a study because yous failed to ask the correct questions is painful and time-consuming.
  12. Ensure that you deal with any instructions, specially courtroom directions, in a timely style. You will badger the Claimant, the Defendant, the lawyers and the court if you fail to comply with deadlines. You lot may also face up costs penalties from the court.
  13. If you cannot come to a prognosis, because, say, the Claimant is even so recovering from their injuries, then state that y'all desire to run across the Claimant at some point in the future.
  14. Many medical experts use tailored questionnaires, which are completed by the Claimant just earlier the appointment, in order to capture all relevant data. Arguably, these questionnaires are disclosable. Some experts attach these questionnaires to their reports. The use of questionnaires ensure that you lot have covered all your bases. Consider using them.
  15. Take the ID of the Claimant, every single time. Make this your policy. Every bit I alluded to above, there are fraudsters in all all elements of human life and therefore assume that, occasionally, the person in front of yous will not exist who they say they are. Some experts even take photographs of the Claimant, embedding the photograph into the report.
  16. Consider how apparent the Claimant is. The less apparent a Claimant is, the more likely it is that the claim volition keep to trial. At trial, your evidence will be in the spotlight, in all likelihood. So, get it right.
  17. Accept notice of the value of the claim. Fifty-fifty if y'all are writing a report about a minor injury, such as the road traffic accident which befell the Manchester City Striker Sergio Aguero, given Aguero earns millions per year, a four-week injury is a big merits. Naturally, the higher the value of the merits, the more scrutiny there will be from all sides because there is much more at pale. Become your opinion right.
  18. If – even for a moment – you feel somewhat uneasy past any of your conclusions, piece of work on the footing that you take done something non quite right. Ensure that you lot are entirely happy with the report, particularly your stance and prognosis. Your professional person reputation is on the line, so ensure that yous are protected at all costs.

Remember that you are fulfilling an essential function in the administration of justice – this is important work. Past producing this report yous're helping the Claimant, the court, the Defendant, the insurers and the lawyers to resolve this instance.

Nosotros take also written an in-depth commodity in our Knowledge Center nigh Medco and how information technology works.

Would you like to see what a mock GP medical written report looks like? Click here to view our Legal Library and download it for gratuitous.

I wish you all the best in writing your report.

Andrew Grayness

Andrew Gray