RSW Medico legal Orthopaedic related personal injury cases
| Orthopaedic related personal injury cases
RSW Medico legal
DELIVERING ON PROMISES
Based in Stourbridge, highly-experienced trauma and orthopaedic surgeon Richard Scott-Watson is the director and sole medical examiner at RSW MedicoLegal, which specialises in the provision of high quality medico legal reports in orthopaedic-related personal injury cases..
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single expert with over two decades experience in his area of expertise, Richard Scott-Watson has a particular interest and expertise in general orthopaedics, fractures and trauma, musculoskeletal injuries, and all aspects of bone and soft tissue injury including limb and spinal injuries. He is a member of the Oxford Medical and Legal Society and is a keen participant in industry-led conferences every year.
“I am an orthopaedic surgeon specialising in orthopaedic trauma with particular interest in soft tissue injuries to the cervical spine and their consequences and the provision of medico-legal reports,” says Mr ScottWatson. “Developed over the last 25 years, I have acquired an extensive knowledge of the assessment and provision of medico-legal reports in 2 | FORENSIC INSIDER
the field of traumatic orthopaedics sub-specialising in WAD and its consequences both in respect of claimant and defendant reports, as well as being requested by both parties jointly. “I am experienced in the provision of reports for the courts and for employment tribunals. I have been accepted as an expert witness in this field in courts in England and Wales. I am experienced in the provision of reports in low velocity impact cases. I also have experience in the interacting
Orthopaedic related personal injury cases |
effects of multiple injuries.” Running RSW Medico-Legal, which consists of him, a full time secretary and a tape recorder, Mr Scott-Watson is based in Stourbridge, West Midlands and runs clinics in Birmingham, Coventry, Bristol, Swindon and Oxford. His educational and professional achievements list include BSc (Hons) MB BS LLB (Hons)(Open) Cert. Av. Med. Cert MR(2), CUEW. DDAM FRCS(Ed), expert witness and disability analyst, APIL expert, Cardiff University Bond Solon expert witness, fully trained in CPR and in LVI Cases, MEOL accredited expert, MedCo accredited expert, forensic and expert witness E Magazine Medical Legal Award 2014/2015, forensic and being expert witness E Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award Trauma and Orthopaedics 2016.
“I specialise in looking at the whole picture in every case. My main aim is the maximal recovery of the claimant, and this often leads to further investigation – usually MRI scans – and treatment, as most of the claimants I see have been under-investigated and undertreated with most also having never been fully assessed.” According to Mr Scott-Watson, there are many practitioners in his area of work who have several years’ orthopaedic experience in the health service, which he says is essential, but not enough. He says becoming an expert increasingly needs proof that the person has the specific qualifications. “A number of minor courses and certificates are out there and are of some use but really courses like the Cardiff University Expert Witness Certificate is the only one I have come across that really tests all aspects of the legal side. “A course will help with concentrating on the duties of the expert. Far too often, I still find reports coming in that have obviously been written for a claimant or defendant instructor. They are fairly easy to counter but experts should be aware that it FORENSIC INSIDER | 3
RSW Medico legal
Orthopaedic related personal injury cases should not be obvious as they are the disinterested finder of the correct answer to the question of injury and disability.” “Many of the cases seen for medico-legal work are not those seen in orthopaedic clinics in the NHS – for example the whiplash associated disorders. Without the specialist interest in the types of cases that are to be reported on the expert may not be quite as expert as required,” he adds. “Equally, in cases with multiple injuries or those with lasting effects, the interaction of the disabilities either with each other or with the ageing process, can be very important. Very few experts have experience in assessing disability and even fewer have any qualification in it – mine is the DDAM.” Giving his thoughts as an expert witness in cases related to orthopaedic-related personal injury and representing patients
in court, he says: “Court cases are rare, and getting rarer, probably because of expense. When the medical side of a case is tested in court it is almost invariably because one side has managed to find a ‘hired gun’, which although against the CPR, are still available. I have not yet come across one who was not forced to back down.” He believes when treating a patient it is essential to look at the whole person and how their injury has affected them. “Everyone is an individual and people want to do very different activities, so injuries that are similar can have vastly different effects in
Orthopaedic related personal injury cases |
different individuals.” Knowing when the right time to instruct is key for Mr Scott-Watson when analysing a client. “I think the more important point is when to instruct. Clearly with WAD we are stuck with the GP report without notes as an initial ‘assessment’. It actually forms no assessment at all in 99 per cent of cases and is in effect written by the claimant. When I see these cases later virtually all are contradicted by the contemporaneous notes. “If the GP says a six month recovery, then the time to get the next report, if that does not turn out to be correct, is at nine months – not 18 or 24 as usually occurs. “With major injuries the first orthopaedic report should be as soon as possible, preferably within weeks. This will give an initial idea of periods of time off work and final outcomes which will often need modifying as time progresses but can mean that an interim payment to cover initial costs can be obtained and the severe financial hardship that some claimants suffer can be avoided.” Mr Scott-Watson’s biggest immediate challenge is dealing with mediocrity. “The GP report system at present had dumbed the process down to the lowest possible level and allows fraud at an unprecedented scale. I would not want to see that extended any further.” His firm already offer home and prison visits as well as urgent appointments wherever we can fit them FORENSIC INSIDER | 5
| Orthopaedic related personal injury cases
RSW Medico legal
DELIVERING ON PROMISES
in, which he says is ‘nearly always’. He is keen to provide a personal service to instructors as “solicitors who have tried this (personal service) find that it serves their clients better than dealing through an agency, and I want to keep it that way.” For the future, Mr Scott-Watson could take on additional work only if he can continue to provide the quality of service his clients have started to expect of him. “Allowing for the fact that we do not really know where the whole industry is going I would hope to stay roughly where I am. We could always take on a few more cases but I would not want to take on enough to compromise quality.” 6 | FORENSIC INSIDER
Orthopaedic related personal injury cases |
CONTACT Richard Scott-Watson RSW Medico-Legal Ltd 7a, Heath Lane, Old Swinford, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY8 1RF
Tel: (0)1384 441126 | Fax: (0)1384 441126 | Email: carolcouzens@ymail.com
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