Dr Sohom Das Q/A With

Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist Expert Witness

How did you become an expert witness?

I was fortunate enough to undergo forensic psychiatry training, as opposed to general psychiatry. Criminal Court report writing is our bread and butter, and I was encouraged as a Specialist Registrar to take on as many cases as I could. I was also fortunate enough to work for some encouraging consultants, who taught me and critiqued my work thoroughly; this allowed me to absorb the relevant legal knowledge and sharpen my medico-legal skills. From my very first case, I developed a passion for this work and knew it would be my area of expertise. I then attended multiple renowned courses, seminars and conferences, over a couple of years, before branching out into any other medico-legal opportunities I could find; from Civil Court Work, to Family Law to Coroner’s Cases, to Employment tribunals.

What has been your most challenging expert witness types of cases?

For Civil cases, it is when there already is a longterm or complex psychiatric history. It takes skill and patience to sift through the medical records and pull out symptoms that existed before the trauma or clinical negligence and differentiate them from symptoms that have surfaced after this event.

For Criminal cases, it is when I feel the Defendant is not fully cooperating or is exaggerating or fabricating symptoms (e.g. in the hope that they may be found unfit to plead to subvert the system). Again, it takes skill and patience, but also persistence in questioning to reveal the real truth.

I know that you deal with a range of cases, but can you specify a common case that you tend to deal with on a regular basis?

My specific area of interest is high value claims related to trauma; whether it be clinical negligence, personal injury or historical sexual assault. I feel there is an honour in fighting the corner of those that have been wronged and psychiatrically harmed by others. I have developed skills in extracting the relevant symptoms and formulating the right diagnoses.

What is your average turnaround time for a report?

I am in a unique position of working for the NHS for 2 days per week (in two Criminal Court Liaison and Diversion schemes). This means I can dedicate a minimum of three days a week for my medico-legal practice, Sigma Delta Psychiatry Expertise.

Generally, I am able to turn around reports relatively quickly; usually within a week or two of being instructed. I am also able to turn reports around rapidly if needed. On one occasion, when there was an extremely urgent deadline for a deportation case, I was instructed one evening, and managed to assess the client in an Immigration Centre forty miles away and finish a full medicolegal report the next day.

Dr Sohom Das (MBChB, BSc, MSc, MRCPsych) Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist Expert Witness (Section 12 Approved)

How often would you say your critical analysis the game changer in a claim?

I actively obtain feedback for my reports for my Continued Professional Development. This is from peers (I am the co-founder of the North London Medicolegal Forum, where a group of expert psychiatrists regularly critique each others’ reports). It is also from judges and solicitors. For every piece of feedback I’ve been given, I’ve been told that my evidence (particularly on the psychiatric consequences of clinical negligence or personal injury) has been critical in gaining a sizeable compensation for the client. I do not take on work that I do not think will have a favourable outcome.

What do you feel is key to being an effective expert witness?

Decisiveness. In my view, the actual science behind extracting information from the notes and assessing a patient is relatively straight forward, especially after some experience (I have authored several hundred in my career). In my view, the most impotent and helpful quality of an expert is being decisive about opinions. This might involve taking a risk on making a definitive decision. However, in my opinion, although sitting on the fence might feel safer, it is not helpful for the Court, the client or the profession.

What makes you the go to expert witness in your specific field?

I have actively been honing my skills to get the right balance of writing very detailed reports that can withstand crossexamination yet are not over-burdened with irrelevant facts. This comes from having written several hundred court reports in my career, actively obtaining feedback from my reports and critiquing other expert psychiatrists’ reports regularly, as well as having them critique mine.

I am able to turn reports around quickly as I dedicate a minimum of three days a week for my medico-legal practice.

I also believe I am very strong under crossexamination. In fact, contrary to most of my colleagues, I very much enjoy this aspect of my work. I feel it is a cognitive challenge. I am able to think quickly on my feet and find the process of my opinions being contested to be quite exhilarating.

Is there any aspect of expert witness that you feel would surprise someone who was considering adding this to their CV?

Whilst the majority of solicitors are a pleasure to work with, some can be difficult (as can some other experts!). In my career, I have experienced solicitors who have been very pushy (as they are clearly hoping for a certain opinion) and do not seem to appreciate than an expert witness has to be neutral and objective. Obviously, this will impact my willingness to work with them in future cases.

In addition, many new experts might not appreciate how volumous the medical notes can be in some cases; sometimes several thousand pages. This obviously takes significant time to analyse.

Dr Sohom Das MBChB, MRCPsych, BSc, MSc Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist Looking for a medico-legal expert?

His specialist areas of expertise include: Dr Sohom Das has extensive experience in undertaking medicolegal assessments. He regularly prepares high-quality reports on a number of psychiatric issues for a variety of courts, including the Criminal Court, Civil Court, Immigration Tribunals and Mental Health Review Tribunals, and has authored in excess of 500 reports in his career.

Civil court work • High value and complex personal injury cases • High value and complex clinical negligence cases - including Breach of Duty, Causation, and Prognosis and Condition • Historical sexual abuse • Psychiatric consequences of a wide range of incidents and accidents - including post-traumatic stress disorder, issues at work and physical disability • Recommendations for psychiatric treatment • AvMA approved expert

Criminal court work • Fitness to plead • Defendants’ mental state atthe time ofoffences • Mental health disposals - including hospital orders, restriction orders and community orders • Mental health defences - including not guilty by reason of insanity, diminished responsibility and automatism • Capacity to form intent / mens rae • Riskassessments - including violence, sexual offending and riskofreoffending • Assessments carried out on male, female and adolescent defendants in secure hospitals, prisons and court

Other areas of expertise • Mental health review tribunal reports • Parole Board reports - including giving oral evidence • Immigration tribunal reports • Family court reports • Employment tribunal reports - including grievance investigation assessments • Formal capacity assessments • Psychiatric assessments for housing issues

Dr Das can take instructions on behalf of either claimant or defendant or as a Single Joint Expert. He offers unlimited free telephone consultations to solicitors about any medicolegal case. His consultation rooms are based in North London, though he is able to travel to assessments.