Guidance clarifies use of psychologist expert witnesses in Family Courts to tackle “lack of understanding” of titles and qualifications – Local Government Lawyer

Posted June 27th, 2023 in expert witnesses, family courts, news, professional conduct by sally

‘The British Psychological Society (BPS) and the Family Justice Council (FJC) have issued guidance on the use of psychologists as expert witnesses in the Family Courts, which seeks to fix a “lack of understanding and awareness” that has seen the use of titles in the Family Court System that have “no specific meaning, nor are they protected or regulated”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 26th June 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

New guidance aims to restrict use of unregulated psychologists as expert witnesses in court – The Guardian

Posted June 26th, 2023 in codes of practice, expert witnesses, judges, mental health, news, psychiatrists by tracey

‘Family judges who appoint unregulated psychologists as expert witnesses in the courts should issue a judgment to explain their decision, according to updated guidance designed to protect the public from inadequately trained professionals.’

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The Guardian, 25th June 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Breakdown of medical agency costs ‘irrelevant’, court finds – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 12th, 2023 in compensation, costs, expert witnesses, insurance, news, personal injuries by tracey

‘An experienced district judge has ruled it is “irrelevant” how medical reporting costs are broken down, as the debate over non-party disclosure takes another turn.

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Law Society's Gazette, 12th June 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Court orders breakdown of medical expert fees – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 26th, 2023 in civil procedure rules, costs, expert witnesses, fees, hospitals, news by tracey

‘Medical reporting organisations could face more scrutiny over their costs after a court ordered a full breakdown of expert fees.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 25th May 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Court of Appeal re-affirms restrictions on use of expert evidence in Road Traffic Accident claims – 39 Essex Chambers

‘In Raspin v Taylor [2022] EWCA Civ 1613 the Court of Appeal re-affirmed the need for the limited use of expert reconstruction evidence in road traffic claims. The Court had originally advised upon restriction of such evidence in the case of Liddell v Middleton [1996] P.I.Q.R P36. Needless to say, over the next 25 years adherence to such guidance was not followed by the parties nor enforced by the lower courts on case management.’

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39 Essex Chambers, 14th March 2023

Source: www.39essex.com

High Court Dismisses Application to Exclude Expert Evidence at Trial – Ropewalk Chambers

Posted March 30th, 2023 in chambers articles, evidence, expert witnesses, news, personal injuries by sally

‘In Fawcett v TUI UK Ltd [2023] EWHC 400 (KB), Dexter Dias KC, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, considered an application by the Claimant to exclude the Defendant’s expert evidence in a personal injury trial. The application was dismissed.’

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Ropewalk Chambers, 15th March 2023

Source: ropewalk.co.uk

Tighter regulation of psychologists in family law cases up to MPs, says senior judge – The Guardian

Posted February 27th, 2023 in expert witnesses, families, family courts, judges, news, psychiatrists by sally

‘England’s most senior family court judge has advised there is a “need for rigour” and “clarity” when instructing psychologists to give expert evidence – but has stopped short of saying the family courts should never appoint those who are “unregulated”.’

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The Guardian, 26th February 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Senior judge issues guidance on instruction of un-regulated psychologists in Family Court – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 24th, 2023 in expert witnesses, families, family courts, judges, news, psychiatrists by sally

‘The President of the Family Division has issued guidance on the instruction of un-regulated psychologists as experts in the Family Court.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 23rd February 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Judges urged to call out role of lawyers in “layering” PI claims – Legal Futures

Posted February 23rd, 2023 in doctors, expert witnesses, fraud, news, personal injuries, solicitors by sally

‘The ruling of a district judge highlighting apparent collusion between solicitors, medical experts and others in inflating a personal injury claim is an important landmark in the fight against fraud, the defendant lawyer involved has argued.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd February 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Expert witness duties in construction disputes – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 10th, 2023 in construction industry, dispute resolution, expert witnesses, news by sally

‘The growing complexity of construction and engineering disputes has led to an increased demand for the services of experts regarding various aspects of a typical legal proceeding.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 9th February 2023

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Andrew Barlow: Serial rapist due to be released despite appeal – BBC News

Posted February 3rd, 2023 in appeals, expert witnesses, news, parole, psychiatrists, rape, sexual offences by michael

‘A man who was jailed for 13 rapes is due to be released despite an appeal from the justice secretary.’

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BBC News, 3rd February 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Why are there so few registered psychologists working as expert witnesses in private law proceedings – Family Law Week

Posted January 20th, 2023 in expert witnesses, families, family courts, mental health, news, psychiatrists by tracey

‘Dr Mark Hardiman, Chartered Psychologist based in The Psychology Clinic of East Anglia. Alongside his work in public law, in recent years he has developed a special interest and practice relating to high conflict post separation parenting and private law psychological assessment.’

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Family Law Week, 18th January 2023

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Disaster Avoidance For Experts with Margaret Bowron KC – Law Pod UK

Posted January 10th, 2023 in expert witnesses, news, podcasts by sally

‘In this episode, Emma-Louise Fenelon speaks to Margaret Bowron KC about how to avoid disastrous expert evidence.’

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Law Pod UK, 9th January 2022

Source: audioboom.com

Healthcare Enabled Fraud – 3PB

‘Keoghs recently wrote about their triple success in defeating claims for psychological injury arising out of road traffic accidents. The common denominator of the three claims was that each of the Claimants sought to rely upon the medical evidence of a specific Consultant Psychologist. Sharan Sanghera acted for the Defendant in one of those Claims, her comment on the case appears below.’

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3PB, 13th December 2022

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

F v M: Parental Alienation and Unregulated Experts – Family Law Week

Posted December 16th, 2022 in children, expert witnesses, families, family courts, news by tracey

‘Roshni Popli, barrister at Four Brick Court, considers the lessons of a recent judgment highlighting the need for greater transparency in the instruction of experts.’

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Family Law Week, 14th December 2022

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

UK woman whose children were removed against their wishes loses appeal – The Guardian

Posted December 8th, 2022 in appeals, children, custody, expert witnesses, family courts, news, psychiatrists by sally

‘A mother whose children were removed from her care against their wishes after an unregulated psychologist said she had “alienated” them from their father has lost a high court appeal to have her case reopened.’

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The Guardian, 7th December 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Prenatal paternity testing for court: your questions answered – Family Law Week

Posted November 17th, 2022 in children, DNA, expert witnesses, families, family courts, forensic science, news by tracey

‘Casey Randall, Head of DNA at AlphaBiolabs, answers some of the most common questions about prenatal paternity testing for legal matters.’

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Family Law Week, 14th November 2022

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Clicks, pops and nuisance – Nearly Legal

Posted November 7th, 2022 in expert witnesses, housing, leases, news, noise, nuisance by tracey

‘Tejani v Fitzroy Place Residential Ltd (2022) EWHC 2760 (TCC). This is another in what appears to be becoming a series (see previous post) of very expensive but failed nuisance claims. I will not go into great detail, but there are two lessons to be drawn.’

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Nearly Legal, 6th November 2022

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

New powers for forensic science regulator by end of March – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Forensic science witnesses in criminal justice cases can expect to be subject to the Forensic Science Regulator’s statutory regime by the end of March 2023, incumbent regulator Gary Pugh said today.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 4th November 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Case commentary in finding of fact hearing – By Mollie Briggs – Park Square Barristers

Posted October 20th, 2022 in care orders, children, doctors, evidence, expert witnesses, news by sally

‘The case involved a fact-finding hearing where the local authority applied for care orders in respect of two children, after the youngest child sustained significant brain injuries following a fall from the father’s arms whilst he was holding the child and picking up the older sibling.’

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Park Square Barristers, 18th October 2022

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk