How to train to be an expert witness and run a successful medicolegal practice
Last month, together with three experienced colleagues at Pain Expert, I ran our 4th annual medicolegal training course in London, aimed at Consultants in Pain Medicine who are actively thinking about establishing a medicolegal practice as an expert witness.
If you are interested in becoming an expert witness (regardless of specialism), in this article, I’ve provided an overview of:
to enable you to run a successful medicolegal practice. The advice given is based on my 20+ years’ experience as an expert witness and my personal commitment to providing high quality, bespoke training to expert witnesses who specialise in pain medicine.?
So, how should you train to be an expert witness?
1. You must fully understand the rules by which you as an expert witness must abide
Before setting out on your career as an expert witness, you must use the resources available to you to learn as much as you can. You must gain a sound knowledge and understanding of the rules by which you, as an expert witness, must abide. These rules are set out in:
In addition, the General Medical Council has also issued guidance on Acting as expert witnesses in legal proceedings.
2. Attend relevant expert witness training courses and read published literature
You should attend training courses run by experienced lawyers, such as those organised by:
The British Medical Association also runs training courses for medical experts from time to time, such as this forthcoming course Medico-legal expert courtroom skills course.
You should read published literature, such as the excellent second edition of ‘Writing Medico-Legal Reports in Civil Claims’, written for medical and quantum experts by Giles Eyre and Lynden Alexander.
3. Attend medicolegal sessions at medical conferences and join special interest groups
Where possible, you should also join medicolegal sessions at the medical conferences you attend. Within the speciality of Pain Medicine, we have an active Medicolegal Special Interest Group (SIG) within the British Pain Society. The Faculty of Pain Medicine of Royal College of Anaesthetists also run courses with a medicolegal focus from time to time.?
4. Obtain bespoke expert witness training for your medical specialism
Over recent years, with the assistance of experienced colleagues at Pain Expert, and senior solicitors and barristers, I have run several bespoke training courses for Chronic Pain Specialists.
These courses have focused on learning the rules by which experts must abide and how to apply them to the evidence that they prepare for the courts. They have also provided pain specialists with a comprehensive understanding of how to:
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Two full days of training is backed up with resources for the delegates made available online after the course, including examination and medical report templates, key point sheets and slides, and written judgments from court cases relevant to Pain Management experts. Feedback has always been extremely positive and the courses have widely been considered interesting and engaging, and ultimately very effective in providing the delegates with the essential skills they need.
I do not for one moment believe that specialty specific training should replace high-quality multispecialty training resources such as those listed above. However, specialty specific training can play an important role in the education and professional development of expert witnesses by affording doctors the opportunity to acquire medicolegal knowledge and skills specific to their own specialty/ subspecialty, which is not available at other expert witness training courses and conferences.?
5. Peer review using anonymised, inactive medicolegal cases
Further knowledge and learning can be achieved through peer review processes and case feedback on a one-to-one basis from senior colleagues on carefully anonymised and redacted medical reports from the cases in which you have been involved that have settled/ended.
Why training as a medical expert witness is not the same as training in clinical practice?
In clinical practice, learning from active cases is widely considered appropriate and an important part of medical training. This does not apply to training to be an expert witness.
Training, supervision and/or mentoring of an expert witness must not take place within the context of an active legal case, unless the instructed expert witness accepts the absolute need for transparency and agrees to disclose the details of his/her interactions with their colleague/mentor to the Court. You can read more about this in my recent article The Pinkus Trap.
In conclusion
Ultimately, learning should be an ongoing and usually lifelong experience, and it is very important that once you have established yourself as an expert in your field, you do not get complacent.
It is essential for all expert witnesses to keep their training up to date, not only with respect to the changes that go on within your specialist field, but also with respect to the changes that happen within the legal world. The latter can often be greatly assisted by your membership and active engagement with official expert witness organisations such as the:
If you’re a Consultant in Pain Medicine and interested in bespoke medicolegal training, please do get in touch with me. I’m always happy to have a chat over the phone to tell you more about what we offer at Pain Expert and answer any questions you might have.?
Article written by: Dr Jon Valentine, FRCA, FFPMRCA, FRCP, Consultant in Pain Medicine and Managing Director at Pain Expert Ltd
Dr Jon Valentine, is one of the UK’s leading expert witnesses specialising in chronic pain.
He is Managing Director of Pain Expert (a ‘virtual’ medicolegal chambers). He established Pain Expert in 2012 to provide expert witnesses with the comprehensive range of services required to build and maintain a successful medicolegal practice, and also to provide those lawyers seeking to instruct Pain Management specialists in personal injury and medical negligence cases with a reliable source of suitably qualified and experienced Pain Management experts. Whilst his medicolegal chambers primarily consists of Consultants in Pain Medicine, he is also developing networks in other specialities, particularly psychiatry and pain psychology, which he is keen to expand.
For more information contact Dr Jon Valentine or visit Pain Expert.
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2 年If you're a consultant actively thinking about establishing a medicolegal practice and becoming an expert witness, then this article by Dr Jon Valentine is worth a read. It provides an excellent overview of how to get established and how to get the best possible training.