In this article Natalie Burns looks at the status of the independent expert, the role he/she is required to undertake and highlights potential areas of concern.

Experts and their evidence are governed by the Civil Procedure Rules, Part 35, case law and, to a certain extent, your own common sense. The purpose of this note is to highlight potential areas of concern.

General Observations

An expert has a duty to comply with their own professional code of ethics. If you have any concerns about the expert’s conduct, and ability to exercise reasonable skill and care when preparing their report, you may raise this issue with the Court or the expert’s own regulating authority.

The expert has to consider all material facts and act only on the matters within their own expertise in an objective and unbiased manner.

An expert’s report will include details of their academic and professional qualifications. You can ask where these qualifications were gained. However, if the expert is known personally and professionally to the party proposing to use this evidence, this by itself does not make the evidence inadmissible. However, great caution should be used when instructing someone known to you personally. Independence needs to be seen by all parties at all times.

The expert’s fee cannot be determined by the outcome of their case. If you have any suspicions that the expert is not being paid according to a set schedule or may benefit the outcome of a case, again you may ask the Court to order disclosure of the expert’s instructions, or adduce other evidence that supports your concerns.