Paediatric medico-legal reports
Paediatric Expert Reports in Child Personal Injury Claims
We provide independent paediatric expert witnesses for child personal injury claims, reporting on causation, condition and prognosis. You see the expert’s CV before you instruct, and the report is written to the expert’s CPR Part 35 duty to the court. We act for either side.
Overview
What a child personal injury claim involves
A child personal injury claim asks what injury the child sustained, whether the event caused it, and how the child is likely to recover or be affected in the long term. Because the claimant is a child, the claim runs with a litigation friend and settlement is subject to the court’s approval under CPR Part 21, context worth bearing in mind when a report addresses a young child’s likely future needs. Where the injury affects the brain, see child brain injury.
Reports we produce
The reports a child personal injury claim relies on
Which experts report
The paediatric specialists on a child personal injury claim
The discipline follows the injury: a general paediatrician for many claims, with a paediatric neurologist, an orthopaedic specialist or another discipline where the injury calls for it. We confirm the discipline and provide the CV before you instruct.
Jurisdiction and funding
Where these claims run, and how they are funded
These claims run in England and Wales under the Civil Procedure Rules, with CPR Part 21 governing the child as a litigant, and we can advise on the position in Scotland and Northern Ireland where relevant. They are usually funded on a conditional fee agreement (CFA) or privately. We provide a same-working-day quotation and confirm terms in writing before instruction.
From instruction to report
How an instruction proceeds
Send your instruction and the records, and we allocate a suitable expert within 48 hours and provide the CV. The standard report turnaround is two to four weeks, or one to two weeks where the matter is urgent. One named case manager stays with you throughout. For the documents we need at the outset, see how to instruct.
FAQ
Child personal injury claims: common questions
Causation, the child’s current condition, and the prognosis, with a care and needs assessment where lasting effects are expected.
It can. A young child’s prognosis and future needs are assessed with the long term in mind, and CPR Part 21 governs approval of any settlement.
The discipline follows the injury; we confirm it and provide the CV before you instruct.
Two to four weeks as standard, one to two weeks where the matter is urgent.
Instructing on a child personal injury claim?
Send your case details and we will allocate a suitable expert within 48 hours, with a same-working-day quotation and the CV before you instruct.