Put yourself in the shoes of an instructing party, where instructing the wrong expert witness could be catastrophic to your next case. Claimants are placing enormous trust in instructing parties to deliver a service that is both robust and effective. With that level of responsibility, it’s not surprising that instructing parties are highly selective when it comes to choosing the right expert witness.
At MLAS, we draw on both industry knowledge and historical data to understand exactly what Instructing parties are looking for. While every case has its own nuances, the same core factors tend to influence decision-making time and time again. Broadly, these fall into four key categories. Together, these areas help build confidence and ultimately drive instructions.
The following key categories:
- Expert Witness Qualifications and Industry Memberships
- Experts Witness Case Ratio (Claimant vs Defendant)
- Accessibility (including venues, locality, etc)
- Case Types and Expert Witness Specialisms
While every case is different, these core areas consistently drive instructions and give Instructing parties the confidence to choose the right expert witness. Let’s take a look at what each of these categories involves…
Expert Witness Qualifications and Expert Witnesses
This is often the first point of interest for instructing parties, so it’s crucial to have the information available for everyone searching. It helps the instructing party quickly assess whether an expert witness is suitable for a case.
- GMC Registration: Essential, as it’s a mandatory licence from the General Medical Council for doctors to practise legally in the UK.
- Cases accepted: The instructions the expert is willing to take on within their pre-defined limitations or pre-requisites. For example, not all expert witnesses are able to accept cases with patients under the age of 18, criminal cases, or some other restrictions.
- Report turnaround: Timelines are often critical, so this gives instructing parties a clear expectation (e.g. 4–6 weeks or 8–10 weeks).
- Additional information: Useful details such as court experience, expert witness training (e.g. Bond Solon Training), and whether they handle personal injury or clinical negligence cases.
Experts Witness Case Ratio
The breakdown of the expert witnesses’ report writing between claimant and defendant cases is known as the Expert’s Ratio. For example, there may be a 70% to 30% split between claimant and defendant instructions.
Intrusting Parties also value insight into the proportion of personal injury versus clinical negligence work, as it helps them understand the expert’s focus and experience. Depending on the instructing party’s caseload, the expert’s ratio could be one of the first points of interest when searching for an expert witness.
Accessibility and Venues
Accessibility is a key factor for Instructing Parties. If a claimant needs a face-to-face examination, the Instructing Parties need to know whether the expert has a suitable venue nearby.
Many expert witnesses offer both remote and in-person appointments. Offering remote appointments often depends on whether the expert witness can provide their professional judgment via an appropriate assessment online.
Being flexible as an expert witness will open more opportunities for instructions. Equally, more complex cases often require in-person appointments, and so being able to travel to multiple venues, local to a claimant or defendant, can be very beneficial to instructing parties.
Case Types and Expert Witness Specialism
A fundamental question for all instructing parties is ‘are the expert witnesses specialists in the appropriate areas for our case?’. Many cases will be appropriate for a general surgeon, or other broad-scope professionals; however, some cases may require a detailed knowledge and experience of highly specialist areas, for example, cases relating to paralysis from spinal surgery as a result of clinical negligence.
Most experts will be qualified and experienced in a wide range of specialist areas. Being able to demonstrate experience in a specialist area, through case studies, example reports, clinical studies, or other scholarly papers, can be a useful indicator of an expert witness’s expertise in a specialist area.
Additional Considerations
Looking beyond the basics, instructing parties also assess the overall quality and credibility of an expert witness. Instructing parties want to know:
- If the expert has relevant and up-to-date experience in their speciality
- The type of medico-legal reports they have produced (sample reports are often requested by instructing parties)
- Whether the expert witness’s reports are clear, well-structured, and written with the court in mind.
Redacted reports can be particularly helpful when selecting an expert witness, as they demonstrate the expert’s approach and standard of work.
Above all, instructing parties expect reports to be objective and unbiased. Expert witnesses must provide balanced opinions based on facts, even if those opinions do not support the client’s case.
Clarity is equally important. Reports should explain complex medical issues in plain English so that a non-specialist judge or jury can understand them. For expert witnesses who attend court, instructing parties also look for the ability to confidently defend their opinion under cross-examination.
At MLAS, we’re diligent with every instruction we receive. We also ensure that each expert witness’s CV is fully up to date, giving instructing parties a clear, accurate, and reliable view of the expertise available to them. Get in touch to enquire about an expert witness, or, search for an expert witness for your next case on our website.