Primary and acute care
Healthcare expert witnesses
Healthcare is a broad register category rather than a single clinical discipline. Practitioners listed under it work across settings, and the specialty required for a particular instruction is usually identified through the practitioner’s profile and the enquiry.
01
The evidence
What a healthcare expert witness is asked to determine
An instruction described only as a healthcare matter still needs a named discipline behind it, because the standard applied is that of the profession and role concerned. Identifying whether the question is clinical, organisational or a matter of record-keeping normally settles which practitioner to approach.
- Which profession and role held responsibility for the care or decision under scrutiny.
- Whether the question concerns individual clinical practice, team process or organisational governance.
- Whether the available records are sufficient for an opinion or further disclosure is required first.
- Whether more than one discipline must be instructed to cover the whole of the pathway in issue.
- What can properly be said within the author’s registration and stated area of practice.
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 healthcare evidence can answer. They do not prescribe the scope of an individual instruction.
Clinical negligence claims
Care questions where the responsible discipline has still to be identified.
View claim type → 02Personal injury claims
Treatment and recovery evidence across more than one care setting.
View claim type → 03Inquests
Evidence on care processes where the circumstances of a death are examined.
View claim type →Search the register by the discipline used in the instruction.
See healthcare listingsReport routes
Reports prepared
A screening and merits report can establish whether there is a case to answer and which discipline should carry the substantive evidence. A records review report sets out the chronology the later opinions will rest on.
Once the discipline is identified, the substantive evidence normally moves to the relevant specialty listing. Each route is described on its own report page.
Healthcare expert witness evidence
A healthcare expert witness gives evidence within a named profession and role. The register publishes the listing; scope, conflicts and terms are agreed directly with the practitioner.
Filtering by discipline and location narrows the list before an approach is made. See guidance from General Medical Council alongside the case material.
Directory search
Healthcare listings
Healthcare Expert Witness Cases & Claims
Related expert witness specialties
Questions answered
Frequently asked questions
Will a Healthcare 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 Healthcare 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 Healthcare 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 Healthcare 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.