Introduction
With the spotlight focussed on the quality of medical expert reports, it is essential that all medical expert witnesses are able to meet the professional standards required by the courts. This seminar will introduce the fundamental issues in medico-legal report writing and also introduce you to the
requirements of the Civil Procedure Rules.
The preparation of an objective, well-structured and comprehensive medico-legal report is one of the most important roles of an expert witness. A poor-quality expert report leads to confusion, wasted costs and lost cases. Ultimately, a poor report exposes the lack of professionalism of the expert who prepared it.
This course will provide you with clear practical guidance on report structures, writing techniques and the legal tests essential in a medico-legal report.You will learn how to save time and improve the quality of your reports. Being able to produce high-quality expert reports will influence the demand from solicitors for your services and the level of fees they are likely to pay to secure them.
Course Content
• What the court requires from a medico-legal report:
- the purpose of medico-legal report in the litigation process
- standard of proof in civil litigation
- Civil Procedure Rules and Practice Directions
• Legal tests - causation and clinical negligence
• Medico-legal report writing skills
- definition of a high quality expert report
- communication issues between doctors and lawyers
- required structure for an expert report
• Medico-legal report template
- personal injury and clinical negligence templates
- key words, phrases, styles and tone
• Critical analysis
Speaker/s
• LYNDEN ALEXANDER is a communication skills consultant who has worked extensively leading
consultancies across the professions. He offers training in presentation skills, writing skills and inter-personal communication skills. He leads the forensic report writing programme at Professional Solutions - a leading litigation support company - where he has trained more than 4000 expert witnesses in expert report writing and courtroom presentation skills. He also designs and delivers integrated communication skills training programmes for a number of consultancies.
He has a first-class honours degree in English from London University, is a qualified practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (with an emphasis on advanced learning skills) and has ten years experience working
with visualisation techniques. Before working in the field of learning and development, he was a Eurobond and Equity Derivatives trader in
the City of London.
Our barristers are leading legal figures in their fields and include one from:
• PAUL DIXON is a partner in Molesworths Bright Clegg, solicitors of Rochdale, Lancashire. He is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and he is the head of the firm’s personal injury department which specialises in work for claimants. The department deals with all types of personal injury claims, including road traffic accidents, public and occupiers’ liability claims, employers’ liability claims, product liability claims, clinical negligence and accidents abroad. Paul has been presenting seminars for Professional Solutions for a number of years.
• GILES EYRE was called to the Bar in 1974 and practises from 9 Gough Square Chambers, London. He specialises in personal injury and clinical negligence claims including those arising from medical accidents. He is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and the Personal Injury Bar Association. Over the past six years he has taken part in many training days for medical expert witnesses.
• RUPERT BUTLER studied law at Manchester University and is a Barrister of both the Middle Temple and of the King’s Inns, Dublin. His practice includes all aspects of commercial and company law (both advisory work and litigation in all courts and tribunals), insolvency (corporate and personal), clinical and professional negligence and personal injury (both claimant and defendant). He is trained in dispute resolution and in mediation. He has a special interest in media law and has substantial experience of acting for national newspapers and periodicals, including acting as retained counsel to a firm of solicitors specialising in media and intellectual property law. He lectures on the Law Society’s continuing education programme for practising solicitors. Rupert’s areas of practice are general commercial and common law; insolvency; personal injury and employment law.
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