An important, and often decisive, factor in civil disputes is the effective use of expert witness evidence. Such evidence aims to assist the parties, and the Court, in understanding technical and complex issues within the dispute.
The use of expert evidence is governed by a section of the Civil Procedure Rules (Part 35), which covers everything from the extent to which such evidence can be produced and relied upon, the contents of any expert witness reports, and even the consequences of failing to disclose an expert’s report.
Experts can be instructed in civil cases to address a broad range of issues. For example;
In personal injury claims, medical experts are commonly used to comment upon the injuries that a Claimant has sustained, as well as their current future impact upon that individual.
In construction disputes, Building Surveyors, Quantity Surveyors, Structural Engineers, and a whole host of other expert witnesses may be required to give evidence, such as to the standard of works undertaken.
In disputes regarding the validity of a Will, it is common for experts to be instructed to provide an assessment and report on an individual’s mental capacity, expressing an opinion as to whether that individual had such capacity at the time of making their Will.
Experts can be instructed by a single party to a dispute, or in some cases it may be more appropriate for the parties to instruct an expert on a single joint basis, ie. where all parties co-operatively instruct a single expert between them; sharing the cost of their instruction and report(s).
When instructing experts to provide evidence in the context of a civil dispute, it is important to ensure that the instructions provided are clear, and require the expert to give evidence only on the issues that the Court would expect them to address. From the expert’s perspective, it is crucial that their evidence is independent, and sets out their true and honest opinion as to the issues they have been instructed to report upon. An expert’s primary duty is to the Court as opposed to the party (or parties) providing their instructions, and experts are also advised to produce their reports in compliance with the Civil Justice Council’s Guidance for the Instruction of Experts and Civil Claims (2014), which can be located via the Courts & Tribunals Judiciary Website here – https://www.judiciary.uk/related-offices-and-bodies/advisory-bodies/cjc/previous-work/experts-and-instruction-of-experts/guidance-for-the-instruction-of-experts-in-civil-claims/
At Hewitts, we regularly instruct and work with expert witnesses, and maintain an expert witness register of suitable experts in a wide variety of fields. If you are an expert in a particular field, and would like to be considered for inclusion in our expert witness register, or are an individual or business involved in a dispute involving issues that will require expert witness evidence, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our Dispute Resolution Team, whose details can be found here – https://hewitts.co.uk/our-team/
