Can the same expert deal with both breach of duty and causation?

Often, yes, but not always. For psychiatric breach of duty we generally instruct an expert in active NHS practice in the relevant sub-specialty. Where the case turns on consequential psychiatric injury only, a senior medico-legal psychiatrist is usually appropriate.

Do you have experts who have not previously worked at the defendant trust?

Yes. We screen for any prior connection to the defendant trust or treating clinicians at instruction stage and re-screen before the report is finalised.

How quickly can a report be delivered?

Standard turnaround is 1–2 weeks from receipt of the bundle and access to the assessee. Urgent reports can be delivered in 2–5 working days where a Crown Court trial date, tribunal listing or interim hearing requires it. We will tell you on day one whether the deadline is realistic.

How are fees calculated?

We agree a fixed fee for the report and any addendum, joint statement work and CMC/court attendance up front. Fees reflect the complexity, the volume of records and the urgency. We will provide a written quote that supports a Legal Aid prior authority application where required.

Can the expert be instructed as a Single Joint Expert?

Yes. The majority of our consultants accept SJE instructions and are experienced in dealing with joint letters of instruction, Part 35 questions from both sides, and joint reports with experts of like discipline.

Is in-person assessment essential?

Most assessments can be conducted by secure video, which keeps costs and timescales down and avoids travel. In-person assessment is arranged where the case calls for it, for example where capacity, malingering, or a child or learning-disabled assessee is involved, and across all the UK regions we cover.

What happens if the report is challenged at court?

The instructed expert remains responsible for the case end-to-end, including responding to Part 35 questions, attending the joint experts' discussion, signing the joint statement, and giving live evidence. There is no handover to a different expert at trial.

Case type

Clinical Negligence

Clinical negligence instructions take two main forms: cases where the negligent care is psychiatric (treatment failures, missed diagnoses, suicides on inpatient wards, medication errors), and cases where psychiatric injury is the consequence of negligent physical care (birth injury, missed cancer diagnoses, surgical errors).

Request an Expert

Use this category when…

You need to map a court order or letter from counsel to the right report
You're confirming whether a psychiatric expert (rather than a psychologist) is the right discipline
You want a fixed quote and a realistic deadline before instructing

What to send with your enquiry

A short summary plus the items below is enough for us to match an expert and confirm the deadline — you don't need the full bundle to get a quote.

Short case summary and the questions you want answered
Hearing or listing date and jurisdiction
GP and psychiatric records (full set where available)
Witness statements, schedules of loss or threshold documents
Any prior expert reports
Court order granting permission to instruct (family / Court of Protection)

Overview

Clinical negligence instructions split into two streams. In the first, the alleged negligence is psychiatric, missed diagnoses, inpatient suicides, medication errors, failures to admit or discharge, breach of confidence. Here a psychiatrist with the relevant sub-specialty addresses breach of duty against the Bolam/Bolitho test as well as causation. In the second, the negligence is in physical care and the psychiatric expert addresses only the consequential psychiatric injury.

We are careful to match the right type of expert to each instruction: liability reports require a consultant who is in current NHS practice in the relevant sub-specialty, while condition and prognosis reports can be written by an experienced medico-legal psychiatrist who may no longer be in full-time NHS work.

Legal framework

Reports are prepared under CPR Part 35 and address breach of duty (where the expert is instructed on liability), causation, and condition and prognosis as appropriate.

Psychiatric issues addressed

Standard of care in psychiatric practice (for liability reports)
PTSD and depression following adverse medical events
Birth-related psychiatric injury, including postnatal PTSD
Suicide and self-harm in inpatient and community psychiatric settings
Psychiatric consequences of long-term physical injury

Questions you can put to the expert

Drop any of these straight into your letter of instruction.

Did the treatment fall below a reasonable standard of psychiatric care?
What psychiatric injury has been caused by the alleged negligence?
What is the apportionment between the negligent and non-negligent care?
What is the prognosis and recommended treatment?

Clinical negligence: areas we cover

Birth injury and perinatal claims

Claims arising from traumatic birth, missed pre-eclampsia, or intrapartum hypoxia frequently include a perinatal psychiatric report on postnatal PTSD and depression in the mother, and on the consequential psychiatric impact of caring for a brain-injured child.

Consequential psychiatric injury

Where the index negligence is in physical care, missed cancer, surgical error, delayed stroke diagnosis, we provide a focused condition and prognosis report on the psychiatric consequences, with apportionment between the negligent and non-negligent care.

Inpatient suicide and self-harm

Reports addressing inpatient suicide and serious self-harm focus on risk assessment, observation levels, the use of leave, and the management of known dynamic risk factors. We instruct general adult and forensic consultants with current or recent inpatient experience.

Medication errors

Lithium toxicity, serotonin syndrome, neuroleptic malignant syndrome and clozapine-related harm all generate clinical negligence claims where a psychiatrist is required to address standard of prescribing and monitoring.

Missed psychiatric diagnoses in primary care

Claims for missed depression with suicidal ideation, postnatal depression, first-episode psychosis or bipolar disorder require a consultant who can speak to what a reasonably competent GP or community psychiatric service would have done at the relevant time.

What's in the report

Part 35 / FPR Part 25 / CrimPR statement of compliance, as applicable
Expert's CV and statement of independence
Detailed list of materials considered (records, statements, scans, prior reports)
Full history, mental state examination and collateral information
Diagnostic formulation referenced to ICD-11 / DSM-5-TR
Reasoned opinion on causation, apportionment, prognosis and treatment
Indicative treatment costings where requested
Statement of truth signed in the prescribed form

How we help

Same-day shortlist of suitable consultants once we receive a brief instruction
Choice of male or female assessor, and of sub-specialty, on every instruction
Fixed fees agreed up front; Legal Aid prior authority figures supported
Standard turnaround 1–2 weeks; urgent reports inside 5 working days where the diary allows
Joint reports, addendum reports, Part 35 questions and CMC attendance handled by the same expert
Remote (secure video) or in-person assessment across the UK

Frequently asked questions

Recommended services

Adult psychiatry Child psychiatry Female psychiatry Neuropsychiatry

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Tell us about your case and we'll match you to the right consultant, usually within 24 hours.

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