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February 2023 Issue 149 £12.50 Ten tips for defusing an angry situation
INDEPENDENT PRACTITIONER TODAY
The business journal for doctors in private practice
In this issue
Making competition work
Private consultants’ questions are answered by PHIN’s chief executive Dr Ian Gargan P18
Time to reform the regulator Urgent changes are needed at the GMC to ensure doctors get a fair hearing, says the MDU’s Dr Udvitha Nandasoma P24
n See page 14
Using the right business structure? Solicitor Kirsty Odell outlines the differences between the types of business structure P40
Becoming an expert witness gets harder By Robin Stride
Lucrative expert medical witness work may be harder for some doc tors to find following action launched by the Expert Witness Institute (EWI). With the scrutiny of expert wit nesses increasing in recent years, the courts have responded with both criticism and some severe penalties for individuals who put themselves forward as expert wit nesses but who do not understand the role or their obligations. But the EWI believes its new cer tification of expert witnesses will drive improvements in expert wit nesses’ quality and provide lawyers with a pool of experts they can rely on to deliver. Following two successful pilot studies, the Expert Witness Instit ute is rolling out its new Certified Expert Witness Membership, a ‘gold-standard’ register of experts whose knowledge, skills and prac tice have been thoroughly vali dated by the institute. This will assure lawyers that by instr ucting an EWI-cer tified expert, they are enlisting a profes sional who understands their role and can ultimately deliver. In association with
HOW THIS WILL IMPACT ON EXPERT MEDICAL WITNESSES
SIMON BERNEY-EDWARDS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE AT THE EXPERT WITNESS INSTITUTE: ‘Our hope is that as the new certified scheme gains greater levels of recognition among the expert witness and legal community it will encourage existing expert witnesses to seek certification so they can instantly demonstrate that their practice as an expert witness has been assessed and validated. For newer expert witnesses, this sets out a standard to aspire to.’ Simon Berney-Edwards, chief executive, Expert Witness Institute To get EWI certification, appli cants must already be highly experienced experts, with the assessment process building on the vetting procedures in place for EWI membership. They will be assessed on all the core competencies required to be an expert witness, recognising those who can demonstrate excel lence in report writing, discussions between experts and giving oral evidence in court. Crucially, applications for certifi cation and revalidation of certifi cation, are assessed on the expert’s ability to demonstrate actual prac tice in real scenarios. ➱ continued on page 3
Will it mean less work for some existing medical expert witnesses as lawyers opt for those with certification? ‘Unless we see a complete change from the judiciary in saying that all expert witnesses must be registered with a professional body representing expert witnesses I suspect that this will not happen in the first instance, especially as we are aware that many lawyers will use the same experts and/or agencies time and time again rather than looking for a new expert witness for each instruction. ‘However, with the regularity that expert witnesses are appearing in the legal press for being criticised in the courts, we are seeing an increase in lawyers being more cautious when searching for and appointing new experts.’ Will new doctors wanting to be expert medical witnesses need to get certification to stand a good chance of getting work? ‘Not initially. There will always be pathways for new expert witnesses to gain experience and recognition’. How many expert medical witnesses are there? ‘I wish I had the answer to that question! We know how many we have on our books but because there is no requirement for expert witnesses to be registered with any specific organisation or the courts, it is difficult to find an answer to this question’.