Summary
Clinical anaesthetists may wish to broaden their scope of work and supplement their income by undertaking expert witness work. It is important to understand the role and the key stages of the process of civil litigation for alleged clinical negligence.
Experts may be instructed by the claimant’s or the defendant’s legal teams – although experts must remain unbiased and prepare their report for the courts. Apart from civil claims, other types of work include reports for coroners, police and for the General Medical Council.
Training is available from a number of sources. Experts must have appropriate indemnity and should be aware of the risk of adverse comments if they do not fulfil their duties fairly and fully.