a) AMROs Purpose and Commitment to Best Practice
- Promote professional standards in medical reporting and maintain good practice in the presentation and use of medical reports.
- Ensure that the conduct of medical experts in the context of legal proceedings is in accordance with the overriding objective of enabling the Court to deal with cases justly and in accordance with the duties and responsibilities of expert witnesses as set out in Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules, recognising that the expert’s duty is to help the Court in matters within his or her own expertise and that this duty is paramount and overrides any relationship with those from whom instructions are received or by whom he or she is paid.
- Expert evidence presented to the Court should be, and should be seen to be, the independent product of the expert uninfluenced as to form or content.
- An expert witness should provide independent assistance to the Court by way of objective, unbiased opinion in relation to matters within his expertise. An expert witness in the High Court should never assume the role of an advocate
- An expert witness should state the facts or assumptions upon which his opinion is based. He should not omit to consider material facts which could detract from his concluded opinion
- An expert witness should make it clear when a particular question or issue falls outside his expertise
- If an expert’s opinion is not properly researched because he considers that insufficient data is available, then this must be stated, with an indication that the opinion is no more than a provisional one. In cases where an expert witness who has prepared a report could not assert that the report contained the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth without some qualification, that qualification should be stated in the report
- If, after exchange of reports, an expert witness changes his view on a material matter having read the other side’s report or for any other reason, such change of view should be communicated (through legal representatives) to the other side without delay and, when appropriate, to the Court
- Where expert evidence refers to photographs, plans, calculations, analyses, measurements, survey reports or other similar documents, these must be provided to the opposite party at the same time as the exchange of reports
- Keep under review Court procedure in relation to the conduct of medical experts in the context of legal proceedings
- Represent the interests of Medical Reporting Organisations (MROs) and Independent Medical Experts using the services of MROs, in their dealing with and meeting the Qualifying Criteria and Standards to provide medico-legal evidence, as set out by the Ministry of Justice and administered by MedCo
- This Association will be operated for the benefit of clients and it is of critical importance that Members recognize that their service should conform to the standards set out in this Protocol