Medical agency admin fee “not recoverable” as part of fixed costs
Defendant solicitors have welcomed a ruling that medical agency costs beyond the cost of the actual report are irrecoverable under the fixed-costs regime.
Judge throws out expert evidence during trial in excoriating ruling
The High Court has excluded three expert witness statements during the trial in a hard-hitting ruling that found their opinions appeared “directly influenced” by the instructing party.
Court of Appeal: Expert was not under “fiduciary duty” to client
The Court of Appeal has overturned the first decision in England and Wales to hold that an expert witness owed a fiduciary duty to their client – but did not rule out the possibility it could exist.
$128m award annulled over link between tribunal member and expert
The undisclosed relationship between an arbitral tribunal member and one of the claimants’ experts has led to a €128m award being annulled as it could have had a “material effect” on the decision.
Experts urged to avoid “grandstanding”
The best experts giving evidence in court are those who answer the questions thoughtfully as opposed to grandstanding, a High Court judge told an online meeting of expert witnesses last week.
Judge refuses to let claimant abandon “unfavourable” joint expert
A High Court judge has upheld a decision not to allow a claimant in a noise-induced hearing loss case to rely on a different expert because a joint expert produced an unfavourable report.
Judges issues guidance to experts on remote evidence
A panel of top judges has issued guidance for expert witnesses on giving evidence remotely, which warns that “processing information through online contact is hard”.
Courts cannot critique “uncontroverted” expert reports
It is not the role of the courts to subject “uncontroverted” expert reports to “the same kind of analysis and critique as if it was evaluating a controverted or contested report”, the High Court has ruled.
