FAQs

Your appointment with the medical expert is vital to your claim. As a result of this appointment, a medical report will be put together detailing the injuries sustained from your accident (or negligent medical treatment). The medical expert will also provide an opinion on how long it took or will take to recover. All of this information is needed by your solicitor to pursue your claim.

Either our dedicated team or medical expert will contact you by telephone or letter to confirm the time, date and venue of your appointment.

If we need your medical records before the appointment, it may take 6-8 weeks to receive them from your GP, hospital, or physiotherapist. We will then send these to the expert who will set up an appointment. Their waiting lists vary, but as a general guide the waiting time to see a GP is 5-8 weeks and 8-12 weeks for any other type of expert.

No. The expert will need to determine how well you have recovered from your injuries. If they were to see you within a few weeks of the accident/incident, it would be hard for them to do this. If you have suffered very serious injuries in the accident, your appointment with the expert will likely be deferred so the longer term impact of your injuries is better known.

Yes. Please advise our team or the medical expert as soon as possible otherwise your appointment may be cancelled.

Please let us or the expert know if you cannot attend your appointment. Kindly note, non-attendance or late cancellation at less than 10 days’ notice may result in a fee which you may be personally liable for.

Take along a note of the relevant dates if you need to. The expert will need to know lots of details to prepare a report as a witness to the court, so it’s important to be prepared for the questioning nature of the examination.

Most experts will allow you to take a friend or relative into the examination if you prefer to do so. If you attend alone but would like a chaperone to be present for the examination, please let the expert know. If you have a joint appointment on the same date as a family member/friend, make sure you arrive in time for the earliest appointment.

Your case will then be delayed and non-attendance may result in a fee which you may be personally liable for. Please also take into consideration that the expert may then be unwilling to offer another appointment.

You will need to discuss this with your solicitor prior to the examination.

Please arrive 10 minutes before your appointment, allowing enough time to park and find the venue. Be sure that you know how to find the venue ahead of your appointment and contact either the expert or us if you need assistance, as directions/maps are available upon request. Please be aware that if you arrive late, the expert may not have enough time to see you and you may be charged a fee.

This will vary according to the type of expert you are seeing and the nature of your injuries. Typically a GP examination takes around 15 minutes, but a psychology examination may last 45 minutes.

You will be asked to provide photographic identification i.e. a driver’s license or passport, so please check the details in your appointment letter. The expert will ask lots of questions about how the accident occurred; how your symptoms and injuries developed; how your recovery progressed; date and detail of any medical treatment; how this affected your work life, home life or leisure activities; and any extra help you needed as a result of your injuries. If appropriate, you may also be physically examined and it might be necessary for clothing to be removed in order for a thorough examination to be done. The expert may dictate their report as the examination progresses or may instead take notes.

It isn’t the expert’s role to offer you medical advice in your examination. However, any recommendations will be detailed in their report.

The report will be forwarded to your solicitor approximately three weeks after the examination. They will then discuss the contents with you and provide advice about compensation.

No. The expert has been agreed by the Third Party Insurers and must be impartial so your own GP or treating doctors can’t be chosen. If you have previously seen the instructed medical expert for treatment, please contact our offices prior to making any arrangements.

We have a panel of experts who specialise in producing medical reports on injuries and are trained to do this as not all doctors are. We choose the closest suitably qualified expert to undertake the examination, which is why it’s important that you do your best to attend.

Your surgery or hospital will only release your records if you give written permission, as required by Data Protection Legislation.

The expert examining you will usually need to see all your records so they are aware of any pre-existing conditions. This will enable them to reach an informed opinion and give an accurate prognosis.