• Is a Hospital Liable for a Receptionist’s Negligent Advice?

    Thursday, November 8th, 2018 posted in Inspire News, Opinion

    Darnley v Croydon Health Services NHS Trust A receptionist in Accident and Emergency tells a patient he would have to wait 4 to 5 hours to see a doctor. The advice is wrong. The patient leaves. He suffers injury as a result. Is the hospital in damages? This was the issue that came before the […]

  • Are up-and-coming surgeons dextrous enough?

    Thursday, November 8th, 2018 posted in Opinion, Sarah Sellars

    Professor Roger Kneebone claims that many of the younger generation now joining the medical profession do not have the learned dexterity of their predecessors. Whilst this is in part attributable to the increased use of computer games and general screen time, our consumer driven society means we throw things away instead of acquiring the skills […]

  • BOLAM IS DEAD. LONG LIVE BOLAM!

    Monday, August 20th, 2018 posted in Inspire News

    As a doctor transferring from medicine to law 25 years ago, I was struck by the illogicality of the Bolam test, in that it seemed to me that it couldn’t logically be applied to many circumstances of medical negligence. The most obvious to me, then and now, is an allegation that a surgeon negligently injured […]

  • When is Expert Evidence not Expert Evidence?

    Tuesday, June 26th, 2018 posted in Inspire News

    In a recent family case a judge rejected the evidence of an expert on the grounds that is was not expert evidence at all[1]. The case is a reminder of the basic principles governing the admission of expert evidence. The case concerned a mother’s application to discharge a care order for her 8 year old […]

  • Annual Expert Witness Conference

    Tuesday, June 26th, 2018 posted in Inspire News

    First Inspire MediLaw Annual Conference for Medical Experts Inspire MediLaw are excited to announce details of their first Annual Conference for Medical Expert Witnesses.  The conference will be held in Oxford on Tuesday 4 December and will be accredited for 6 CPD hours. The conference will be a great opportunity for medical professionals to network, […]

  • An Expert’s Evidence ‘Fundamentally Flawed’

    Wednesday, June 13th, 2018 posted in Inspire News

    In a recent case at Winchester County Court, the judge found that an expert’s evidence was fundamentally flawed to the point where he rejected it on every contentious point. The case of Ruffell v Lovatt[1] contains lessons for medical experts. The Claim Mrs Ruffell was a passenger injured in a road traffic accident in 2012. […]

  • Credible medical expert witnesses: the role, knowledge and legal obligations

    Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018 posted in Inspire News

    Providing expert evidence in any legal proceeding is a professional privilege. Doctors can play an important role as expert witnesses in helping courts, tribunals or other dispute resolution processes make informed, fair decisions on cases involving clinical issues. A shortage of good expert witnesses means doctors who are able to provide impartial and credible expert […]

  • Expert Witness – A Cautionary Tale

    Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018 posted in Inspire News

    Stick to Your Expertise and Understand Your Duties An Expert is Criticised by the Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal judgment in R v Pabon is a cautionary tale for experts. In this case the Court of Appeal was highly critical of an expert’s conduct in a criminal trial[1]. Medical experts might look at […]

  • Witness Evidence: Is It Just One Person’s Word Against Another’s? by Paul Sankey, Parter at Enable Law

    Thursday, April 26th, 2018 posted in Inspire News

    Witness Evidence: Is It Just One Person’s Word Against Another’s? Where there is a dispute of facts, people often think it is just one person’s word against another’s. In reality, most of the time it is not. Clinical negligence cases do not normally depend on what witnesses of fact say. Expert evidence is usually more […]

  • Medical Manslaughter by Christian Beadell, Senior Solicitor at Fletchers Solicitors

    Tuesday, April 10th, 2018 posted in Inspire News

    On 6 February 2018 Jeremy Hunt announce a rapid review into the application of the offence of Gross Negligence Manslaughter (GNM) to healthcare professionals. This flowed from the general outcry into the conviction of Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba a specialist registrar into the 6th year of her postgraduate training, who was held to be responsible for […]