Category: General

A medicolegal report is a fundamental part of a claim for compensation, as it provides the foundation for much of the claim. Not only is it essential in proving that any injuries were sustained as a result of the incident in question, it will be used to assess the validity and potential value of a claim and is therefore vital in negotiating a settlement.

Until recently, evidence in medicolegal cases was collected from physical sources, such as patients’ medical histories, witness statements and expert witnesses. Technological advances mean that other sources of evidence, including social media, CCTV monitoring and GPS tracking, are now available. Many personal injury cases involve insurance companies, who are likely to use these methods of […]

This is the second in a series of four articles on The Francis Report and its impact.  We have explored the background to the report in our first article and here we discuss how health providers achieve the duty of candour. In our final two articles we will look at barriers to its use and discuss […]

This is the third in a series of four articles on The Francis Report and its impact. We have explored the background to the report and how health providers achieve the duty of candour. This article explores the barriers to its use, and the final article in the series will discuss The Francis Report’s impact on […]

It is now over five years since the Francis Report was published and the duty of candour legislation was put into place in England. A similar statutory duty came into force in Scotland in 2018 and is currently being consulted on in Wales and Northern Ireland. The primary aim of these changes to the law […]

This is the first in a series of four articles on The Francis Report and its impact. We will be exploring the background to the report, analysing the duty of candour and barriers to its use, and discussing The Francis Report’s impact on medical practice. This article introduces the context that led to the publication of The […]

In this article we discuss the definition of clinical negligence, explaining the significance of the Bolam Test and the subsequent case law that now provides the framework for clinical negligence litigation. The inherent duty of care a medical professional has for their patients is well established. However, to show clinical negligence has occurred, it must be […]

On 1st April, we change our name to Medicolegal Partners and launch our refreshed website and changing our logo.The new name better reflects the inclusive partnership we have with our experts and our client values. The team remains the same as does our telephone number. Our email address changes to the new company name info@medicolegal-partners.com.

7 out of 10 complaints to the NHS mention poor communication and medical staff not explaining what went wrong. Since the introduction of the duty of candour in November 2014 for clinical trusts and April 2015 for other care providers, this is a statistic that ought to be improving. The key to learning from a mistake […]

The knowledge of your medical expert will be critical to your personal injury or medical negligence case, however the value of a well-written and well-structured medico legal expert witness report shouldn’t be underestimated. A good report could be instrumental to the outcome of a case. Medicolegal Associates has a lot of experience preparing reports for […]

Providing surveillance evidence can be key in turning a case in favour of either claimant or defendant if accompanied by the expertise of the right Medico-Legal Expert Witness. The following case studies give examples of each of these. Case Study One: Mr X slipped and fell hard on an icy surface when exiting a company […]