Remember: the judge and jury are not medical professionals – usually

By Mr Turab Syed, consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon and expert witness.

I’VE BEEN READING ‘the aggressive expert’ article by Chris Makin in Issue 63 of Your Expert Witness over the Christmas holidays. He recalled the case of Siegel v Pummell (2015] EWHC 195 (QB).

The facts were simple and straightforward and show what an expert – especially, as I am a surgeon, what a medical expert – should not do. In fact, I would go further than Chris Makin to say that it should be a ‘never event’ and that the report of an expert should be pitched at the ‘informed layman’, or a GCSE-level student, avoiding any medical or complex terminology.

Coming back to the case, Mr Siegel was injured in a motor accident where Mr Pummell had admitted liability. The trial was on quantum and Mr Siegel succeeded in claiming a reasonable amount; but he claimed his costs on the indemnity basis for the following reasons:

• The defendant’s expert neuropsychiatrist had made personal and

• combative attacks on the claimant’s expert psychologist

• The defendant's expert had not co-operated in the joint statement

• process

• The defendant’s expert gave his written evidence, plus his oral

• evidence at trial, in a manner which the judge found too confusing