Lawyer Monthly Magazine - April 2019 Edition

Medicolegal work has a heavy impact on medical negligence cases, and so ensuring you have a refined and well knowledgeable expert is of deep importance. We speak with Professor Hugh Koch, who touches on how he assists in legal cases, as well as how he understands law firms better than usual experts and how wellbeing and resilience assist hardworking lawyers. difficult behaviour at interview, conflicting or unreliable self- report by the claimant, copious additional information, or disagreement over the recall of the interview. We handle these issues sensitively. We understand interviews and reading medico- legal reports can be stressful for the claimant. What are contemporary types of personal injury cases that you have been instructed on in recent years? We have seen a steady flow of instructions as part of clinical negligence litigation. Although we do not carry out clinical negligence reports per se i.e. giving an opinion on possible negligence, we do provide comprehensive reports on the personal injury implications of a clinical negligence case. For example, the psychological effects of a cosmetic operation which goes wrong. In the past 12 months, we have developed considerable expertise in cases involving data breaches providing robust opinions on the social and psychological effects of inappropriate or malicious use of personal data. It is not surprising that some cases of data breach result in considerable psychological injury. You are instructed on psychological and orthopaedic personal injury assessments; can you share how the process of devising a report for each case differs? Each report is uniqueand specific to the individual claimant and their circumstances and covers the key medico-legal questions required by the instructing party, namely, diagnosis, causation, attribution and prognosis. In addition, we are experts at understanding and clarifying the reliability of the evidence provided. From this, can you share ways in which the legal team you are working aside can assist, in order for you to carry out your role in the case as best as possible? Key to the reliability of each case is access to GP medical records in the form of the computerized attendance notes, preferably at or before the assessment takes place. Secondly, a pre-interview questionnaire is sent out with the appointment letter to each claimant. This is helpful to both the claimant and the expert and should be brought, completed, to the interview, saving interview time and stress for the claimant. How do you tackle challenging cases you are presented with? ‘Challenging cases’ can mean Can you share ways in which you have seen the medicolegal sphere change in the years you have been practising as an expert? The key change, of course, was the implementation of the Civil Procedure Rules in 1999. This reinforced the importance of impartiality and fairness. It also highlighted the importance of the Joint Statement process. Both these initiatives have enhanced the reliability and validity of the expert(s) opinions and ultimately justice in civil claims. From your viewpoint, what changes would you advocate for in the medical legal sphere? Enhancing the culture of positive interaction between experts, the instructing parties and the court to ensure accessibility, timeliness, efficient and concise reporting, logical response to Part 35 questioning, and Court Directions for Joint Statements will all help the rapid and appropriate resolution of civil claims. Why have Hugh Koch Associates grown so successfully? Hugh Koch Associates interact with instructing parties in a proactive and positive way. We have steadily grown in size, both numerically and geographically since the firm’s Professor Hugh Koch HK Associates PROF. HUGH KOCH Professor Hugh Koch, a chartered clinical psy- chologist, and expert wit- ness of longstanding, is a visiting Professor in Law and Psychology at Bir- mingham City University. He has published widely (see www.cv.hughkoch. com). Details on ‘Finding an ex- pert’ easily can be found on the website www. hughkochas s oc i a t e s . co.uk. PSYCHOLOGY APR 2019 50 Expert Witness www. lawyer-monthly .com