Primary and acute care
Fetal medicine expert witnesses
Listed fetal medicine expert witnesses address antenatal screening, diagnostic imaging, fetal surveillance and the counselling that follows an abnormal finding. The instruction should identify whether the issue is detection, interpretation or the advice given afterwards.
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The evidence
What a fetal medicine expert witness is asked to determine
Fetal medicine evidence is image-led and date-sensitive. What was visible at a given gestation, what the screening pathway required at that time and what was communicated to the parents are separate questions, and an opinion should keep them apart.
- Whether the screening or diagnostic scan performed was appropriate to the gestation and the clinical indication.
- Whether an abnormality was detectable and reportable on the images obtained at the time.
- Whether referral for specialist fetal assessment was indicated by the findings recorded.
- Whether surveillance of growth, liquor volume or Doppler indices was undertaken and acted upon.
- What the records show about the information given to the parents and the options discussed.
Practitioners are listed across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Location can be narrowed in the register’s location listings before an instruction is made.
Claim contexts
Claims that instruct this discipline
These links describe the question fetal medicine evidence can answer. They do not prescribe the scope of an individual instruction.
Birth injury and cerebral palsy claims
Antenatal surveillance and detection questions preceding delivery.
View claim type → 02Clinical negligence claims
Screening, imaging and counselling decisions during the antenatal period.
View claim type → 03Inquests
Evidence following stillbirth or neonatal death where antenatal care is examined.
View claim type →Search the register by the discipline used in the instruction.
See fetal medicine listingsReport routes
Reports prepared
Antenatal records, scan images and reports usually support a records review report at the outset. A breach and causation report then separates the detection question from the outcome alleged.
Obstetric, neonatal and paediatric neurology evidence commonly sits alongside fetal medicine where the claim spans pregnancy, delivery and later development. Form and content requirements are held on the report pages.
Fetal medicine expert witness evidence
A fetal medicine expert witness reads the antenatal imaging and surveillance record against the gestation reached and the pathway in force, without allowing the later outcome to stand in for what was visible at the time.
The register publishes the listing only; scope and conflicts are addressed in correspondence with the practitioner. See guidance from British Maternal and Fetal Medicine Society alongside the case material.
Directory search
Fetal Medicine listings
Fetal Medicine Expert Witness Cases & Claims
Related expert witness specialties
Questions answered
Frequently asked questions
Will a Fetal Medicine expert witness respond to Part 35 questions?
Yes - CPR 35.6 entitles the parties to put written questions on a report, and answering them is part of the expert's duty to the court. A Fetal Medicine report prepared for proceedings in England and Wales carries the Part 35 statement of truth, with equivalent duties applying in the other UK jurisdictions.
Can a Fetal Medicine expert act as a single joint expert?
Where the court directs a single joint expert under CPR 35.7, the instruction is agreed between the parties and put jointly - a routine basis of instruction in this field. Whether a particular practitioner accepts SJE appointments is confirmed with the practitioner at the enquiry stage.
Will the expert attend joint discussions or give evidence at trial?
Where the court directs discussions between experts under CPR 35.12, they meet and produce a joint statement of what is agreed and what is disputed; attendance at trial - in person or by video link - is likewise a matter of court direction. These commitments are confirmed with the practitioner at instruction.
Can I choose a Fetal Medicine expert of a specific gender, or one who assesses remotely?
Yes on both counts. Every listing displays the practitioner's gender, consulting locations and assessment types - face to face, remote or both - so sensitive-instruction preferences can be applied at the shortlisting stage, before any contact is made.