Fees for medico-legal reports produced to current Civil Procedures Rules
Mr James W Fairley
BSc MBBS FRCS MS
Consultant ENT Surgeon
Expert witness fees
This page last updated 13 December, 2007
Please telephone 01233 642244 for free intial case-screening advice.
Rates
Our basic rate is £200 per hour plus costs of any specialist examinations, tests, investigations. We can supply estimates for individual cases on request.
Examples
| example 1: Noise induced hearing loss report, no relevant previous medical history, small volume medical records |
|
| examination and preparation time 3 hours @ £200 / hour |
600.00 |
| pure tone audiometry to British Standards @ £100 |
100.00 |
Total
|
700.00
|
| example 2: Moderately complex personal injuries case; significant volume previous medical records requiring detailed study & commentary |
|
| examination and preparation time 6 hours @ £200 / hour |
1200.00 |
| special investigation fibreoptic nasolaryngoscopy (inc hosp charges) |
250.00 |
Total
|
1450.00
|
| example 3: Complex medical negligence case; large volume previous medical records requiring detailed study & specific referenced citations / research documentation |
|
| examination and preparation time 16 hours @ £200 / hour |
3200.00 |
| multiple special investigations eg cortical evoked response audiometry, electronystagmography, MRI scanning (at cost) |
1600.00 |
Total
|
4800.00
|
Invoice terms
- Fees payable on receipt of report
- Interest of 1.5% per month payable beyond 30 days
Court appearances
Our rate is £1,600 per day or part thereof, plus travel, accomodation & sundry expenses
Cancellation fees for court appearances
We are contractually obliged to give a minimum of 8 weeks notice to the NHS Hospital Trust for leave of absence. This is because
- Out-patient clinics and operating theatre lists are normally booked well in advance, and becoming more so with the NHS "Choose and book" system.
- Time is needed either to cancel and re-book large numbers of patients appointments, or to engage locum cover.
- Once a date has been booked as leave for court attendance, it is not usually possible for us to re-instate either NHS or private work with less than 8 weeks notice.
Therefore it would be justifiable to bill the full rate if a court case is cancelled with less than 8 weeks notice. However we recognize that this is not customary practice, and work to the following schedule:
| Notice of Cancellation (calendar days) |
Percentage of fee payable |
| more than 56 |
nil |
| 28 - 56 |
25% |
| 14 - 27 |
50% |
| 7 - 13 |
75% |
| less than 7 |
100% |
|
