Experts Forum - Forensic Healthcare Ltd · 2018-07-02 · Experts Forum Experts for Law &...

The Arrow Dry Bulk Quarterly - March 2009

Issue 10

T: +44 (0) 1621 773428 | Email: [email protected] | www.forensic-healthcare.com | www.fhcformediation.comDX – DX 53557 South Woodham Ferrers |

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Experts for Law & Mediation

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Page 3The Arrow Dry Bulk Quarterly - March 2009

W elcome to Issue 10 of Expert Forum.

We hope the range of subjects in this edition will be of interest to all.

Our friend Dr Will Anderson explains how the courses he organises help clinicians to photograph injuries so that the images can be helpful in court cases and we have a very interesting article from HM Senior Coroner for Cumbria, Kally Cheema explaining the role of The Coroner. We are very grateful that Kally and Will have taken the time out of their busy schedules to write in this edition.

We have two articles relating to the problems facing Expert Witnesses in the current climate, and we are grateful to the Law Gazette and the Times for drawing attention to these very important issues.

Our medical director Jason Payne-James writes about the development of the Forensidoc App and how it will now be of use to Experts even beyond the area of Forensic Medicine.

We are delighted and very proud that FHC has been awarded Highly Commended status in the National Apprentice Awards 2017 and once again named in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers in the UK We pride ourselves on giving our apprentices a full understanding of the work that Expert Witnesses undertake. Our caseworker Ellis Lillywhite who was herself an apprentice and Aimee Reeve attended court to hear Dr Payne-James give evidence and they have written of their experience and how it added to their understanding. Aimee has now finished her apprenticeship here and moved on to what we know will be a successful future. Maisie Taylor has now joined us and is already an important part of the FHC team.

As always we would love to hear your comments and suggestions. We are always happy to accept interesting contributions. Contact us through our twitter page @FHCExperts4Law or e-mail [email protected].

Experts ForumNewsletter

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JurisdictionA coroner’s duty to investigate a death arises if section 1 of the Coroners and Jus-tice Act 2009 (the Act) is triggered. That is; (1) the coroner is made aware that the body of a deceased person is within the coroners area (2) the coroner has reason to suspect that the death was either (a) violent or unnatural (b) the cause of death is unknown (c) the deceased died while in custody or otherwise in state detention. The coroner must have formed a genuine suspicion, based, on an objective assess-ment, upon something of substance for the duty to investigate under Section 1 to be triggered. In most cases, the presence of a body is obvious. Where major human parts are discovered, this will also be substantial ev-idence that a body existed. Problems can arise however, where for example, partial human remains, remnants of a body, or tissue from a body are found. One of the most challenging questions for coroners in terms of jurisdiction and the presence of ‘a body’ can come from the death of a foetus as a result of a premature birth, still birth or abortion. Most recently in the case of R(T) v HM Senior Coroner for West York-shire [2017] EWCA Civ 318 the Court of Appeal clarified that a coroner is entitled to conduct an investigation and inquest into the question whether a child is stillborn or had survived birth and died later.

The duty to investigate a death may be triggered even if there is no body, where for example, a body has been cremated, destroyed or never been found providing the criteria in secion1(4) of the Ac is met.

Natural vs Unnatural deathsThere is no statutory definition as to what is a natural or unnatural death. The normal progression of a natural illness/disease without any significant human intervention running its course may be considered as a natural death. In R v Inner North London Coroner ex p Touche [2001] EWCA Civ 383 the Court of Appeal held that a death as a result of natural causes could be deemed ‘unnatural’ if the death was contributed to by neglect. Consequently, a natural cause may be regarded as an unnatural death in certain circumstances, where the death was wholly or partly caused, or acceler-ated, by any act, intervention or omission other than a properly executed measure intended to prolong life.

Where a death occurs as a consequence of any traumatic event, accident, deliber-ate act, self-induced or otherwise, it may be regarded as a violent or unnatural death and will fall within section 1 of the Act. Such deaths may include, for exam-ple, road traffic collisions, suicides, falls, fires, and death as a result of any violence (intended or not).

The Role of the Coroner









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Death referralsCurrently, there is no specific statutory re-quirement in England and Wales for death to be referred to the coroner. This may change however, with the proposed in-troduction of the Medical Examiner when the Notification of Deaths Regulations are introduced. A death is usually referred to the coroner by the police (if the death oc-curred in the community) a medical prac-titioner (GP or hospital based) and on oc-casion, the Registrar. There are three potential scenarios that will determine how a death is dealt with when a coroner receives a death refer-ral. Establishing the cause of death, and whether the death is natural or unnatural is crucial, as this will determine whether the coroners duty to investigate is trig-gered under section 1 of the Act.

Preliminary enquiries and investigations without an inquestPreliminary enquiries may be made of a medical practitioner to establish if a Medi-cal Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) can be issued in accordance with Section 22 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953. This is a legal document which evidence of the fact and causes(s) of death. It is not the death certificate. The MCCD enables the death to be formally registered by the Registrar, who will issue the death certificate. If a MCCD is issued, there is no need for a coroner’s investiga-tion under Section 1.

A registered medical practitioner can issue a MCCD if the criteria in Section 22 of the Birth Deaths and Registrations Act 1953 is met. This requires the medical practi-tioner to be satisfied to the best of their knowledge and belief that they can state the correct cause of death and; that the cause of death is wholly natural and that they attended the deceased in their last ill-ness and either (a) that attendance was within the preceding 14 days of death or (b)the deceased has been viewed after death.

If the medical practitioner is not able to is-sue the MCCD a post mortem can be au-thorized under Section 14(b) CJA 2009 as part of the coroners preliminary enquiry. If a natural cause of death is revealed fol-lowing a post mortem, the coroner will is-sue paperwork to the Registrar enabling the death to be registered.

The coroner will no longer be involved.

Where the post mortem report obtained as part of the coroners preliminary enqui-ries does not immediately reveal a cause of death as further investigations (such as histology and/or toxicology are required), the coroner will formally commence an investigation, as the duty to investigate under Section 1 is now triggered. As and when the final post mortem report and re-sults become available, if a natural cause of death is revealed, the Coroner will dis-continue his/her investigation and issue the relevant paperwork for the registrar to register the death. If the post mortem re-port reveals an unnatural cause of death, the coroner will proceed to an investiga-tion with an inquest. JurisdictionWhen an inquest is held, the matters to be ascertained are; (a) who the deceased was; (b) how, when and where the de-ceased came by his or her death; (c) the particulars (if any) required by the Birth Deaths and Registrations Act 1953 to be registered concerning the death. These are known as ‘determinations’ and ‘find-ings’. The question of ‘how’ is generally understood to mean ‘by what means’ did the death occur, but is given a wider defi-nition of ‘by what means and in what cir-cumstances’ where a death engages Arti-cle 2 ECHR. Article 2 concerns the states responsibility to ensure that its actions do not cause the death of its citizens.

Where it is alleged that there is an argu-able breach of Article 2, Section 5(2) of the Act requires the scope of the investigation to be widened.

After hearing evidence at an inquest into a death, a coroner (or the jury if there is one) must ensure that any determination made is not be framed in such a way as to appear to determine any question of civil or criminal liability. Where an inquest takes place, a death cannot be registered until the conclusion of the inquest and upon the Registrar receiving a Certificate after Inquest from the coroner. When an investigation is suspended due to criminal proceedings, an inquest may or may not be resumed following the outcome of the proceedings.

by Kally Cheema

I am HM Area Coroner for Cumbria. I was first appointed as an Assistant Coroner in 2010 and I have held coronial posts in West London, Coventry & Warwickshire and The Black Country. I am a Course Director for the Judicial College and I pro-vide training on a national basis to newly appointed Assistant Coroners. Separate

to this, I also provide training to newly medical practitioners in Cumbria on the death referral process and the role of the coro-ner. I am also a member of the Law Review Committee for the Coroners Society England and Wales. Separate to this, I sit on the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioners Police Misconduct Panel as an Independent Panel Member.

Prior to my full time role as a coroner, I worked overseas in a British Overseas Territory in a judicial capacity as Resident Judge in the Turks and Caicos Islands, where I dealt with crimi-nal, civil, family and coronial law.

I am a solicitor-advocate and qualified in Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service where I specialised in family and criminal law until I left my post of Legal Team Manager to work overseas.






Page 7The Arrow Dry Bulk Quarterly - March 2009 Page 5





“The fact that the litigant in person cannot afford a lawyer does not bode well for the expert being paid. Also, experts may have to hold the hand of the litigant in person who doesn’t understand the legal process and this could take a great deal of time, possibly unpaid.”

Medical experts take the strongest line on this: 76 per cent would not take instructions from a litigant in person compared with 54 per cent of non- medical experts.

However, being instructed by a lawyer is not without its own problems, experts say. About 30 per cent have in the past year been asked or felt pressurised to change their report by the lawyers who instruct them in a way that damag-es their impartiality. And the so-called hired gun still exists: as with last year, 46 per cent have come across a colleague they regard as a hired gun despite the provision in the rules made by Lord Woolf, the former lord chief justice, that an expert’s duty is to the court, not those instruct-ing them.

“Solicitors need to understand the role of ex-perts and should not consider them as an ad-versarial tool,” Solon says. “Judges need also to keep a careful eye out for bias. If lawyers put such pressure on experts, that is even more likely with litigants in person.” Experts are criti-cal, too, of the standards of some of their col-leagues, with 75 per cent saying that they have seen poor quality advice or met an unqualified expert witness.

What of the future? The Ministry of Justice is investing £700 million to modernise the courts system and £270 million on developing a fully connected criminal courtroom by 2020.

More than 65 per cent of experts do not believe that the increased use of IT in courts will lead to the decline or end of the expert giving live evi-dence. But more than 60 per cent say evidence via video-link is not as effective as evidence in court and 65 per cent do not think that examina-tion-in-chief should be prerecorded to save time and money.

The experts’ role remains central to the justice system. But there is a worry, says Solon, that they are under strain to a point that risks the right results in trials. “We must hope their con-cerns are heeded in the ongoing cuts review.”

Evidence via video-link is not as effective as ev-idence in court and 65 per cent do not think that examination-in-chief should be prerecorded to save time and money.

The experts’ role remains central to the justice system. But there is a worry, says Solon, that they are under strain to a point that risks the right results in trials. “We must hope their con-cerns are heeded in the ongoing cuts review.”

-First published in The Times

by Frances Gibb

Expert witnesses, including scientists, owe their duty to the court, not the lawyer who hires them

More than two thirds of expert witnesses will not accept instructions from the rising numbers of litigants in person — those appearing in court without a lawyer — and one third will no longer take legal aid work.

These are among the stark findings of an ex-clusive survey of 800 experts for The Times by Bond Solon, the organisers of the annual expert

witness conference in London tomorrow.

Expert witnesses are crucial to the trial process. Whether doctors, scientists or forensic patholo-gists, they may shape the trial’s direction and even determine the result.

Yet they are not happy, the survey finds. Rea-sons include lower fees arising from legal aid cuts and the resulting rise in litigants in person and court reforms that have imposed tighter timetables. There may be little sympathy for complaints about changes to increase efficien-cy, but the attitude to litigants in person is an-other worrying sign of the impact of justice cuts.

Mark Solon, a solicitor and the head of legal training at Wilmington Legal, says: “A high num-ber of experts surveyed, 50 per cent, indicated they have felt stressed as a result of their work as an expert witness.

“Reforms introduced to the rules in 2013 means they have to comply with court timetables and tighter deadlines for reports. Changes in costs budgeting, proportionality and funding have also put a strain on experts within tight budgets.”

More than one third of experts who could do legal aid cases would now refuse to do so, the survey finds. They have no obligation to take such cases and must decide if the work is worth their time. In addition, nearly 70 per cent will stop legal aid work if fees fall lower. Such cuts — now under review by the government — have also seen a dramatic rise in litigants in person in civil and family cases.

‘The fact that they can’t afford a lawyer does not bode well for being paid’

Ministry of Justice family statistics show that the removal of legal aid in most divorce-related dis-putes has led to a 20 per cent rise in litigants in person. Yet many experts find it impossible to take instructions from non-lawyers.

Solon says: “A litigant in person has the ultimate vested interest in winning and may not under-stand the rather unusual position of an expert witness — that although instructed by a party in a case and paid by them, the duty of the expert is to assist the court and not to win the case for one party.

Why trials are losing their appeal to expert witnesses









The Legal Aid Agency has been told to directly apologise and pay £10,000 to an expert witness in immigration cases for causing him distress, inconvenience and financial loss by excessively auditing his bills.

In a report seen by the Gazette, the Par-liamentary and Health Service Ombuds-man says it has decided to ‘partly up-hold’ Dr Alan George’s complaint. Middle East expert George had alleged that the agency unfairly denigrated his character, unfairly reduced, capped and refused his fees; and unfairly subjected his work and fees to excessive assessment, review and audit from spring 2011 until autumn 2013.

The ombudsman says: ‘We found that LAA did not act transparently when inves-tigating their concerns about Dr George and they failed to keep useable records. Further, that they treated Dr George un-fairly when failing to properly consider and respond to his complaints and were not free from bias. We agreed with Dr George that LAA’s actions caused him inconvenience, distress and had a finan-cial impact on him. However, we did not find that LAA denigrated Dr George’s character.’

The ombudsman found ‘maladministra-tion’ in the agency’s handling of matters. The agency’s internal correspondence ‘did not treat Dr George fairly and [the agency] failed to engage properly with him when he complained - in particular, they gave him no right of reply to com-ment on their concerns about him and did not undertake an independent inves-tigation’, the ruling states.

The ombudsman considered the agen-cy’s manner in investigating Dr George ‘caused him emotional distress and strain’. The agency’s actions ‘question-ing his work caused Dr George incon-venience in relation to fielding requests from solicitors arising from LAA and re-sulted in a financial impact on his ability to obtain work’.

To ‘put things right’, the ombudsman recommends the agency ‘apologises di-rectly’ to George ‘for the injustice their actions caused him and which we have identified...distress, inconvenience and loss of financial opportunity’.

The ombudsman considered the agen-cy’s manner in investigating Dr George ‘caused him emotional distress and strain’.

Expert Witness Dr George wins apology and payment from Legal Aid Agency

Due to changes the agency has made to its complaints procedure, the ombuds-man says an appropriate remedy for the systemic issues and injustice that have been identified has been provided. The agency updated its complaints proce-dure last November, allowing third par-ties to make a direct complaint.

A Legal Aid Agency spokesperson told the Gazette: ‘Legal aid is vital in maintain-ing access to justice and we are commit-ted to ensuring it represents good value for the taxpayer. Steps have been taken to review the existing complaint-handling process to ensure fair and equal access for everyone.’

-First published in The Law Gazette

by Monidipa Fouzder

With kind permission from Paul RogersonEditor-in-chief - The Law Society Gazette.

The agency’s actions ‘questioning his work caused Dr George inconvenience in relation to fielding requests from so-licitors arising from LAA and resulted in a financial impact on his ability to obtain work’.

To ‘put things right’, the ombudsman recommends the agency ‘apologises di-rectly’ to George ‘for the injustice their actions caused him and which we have identified...distress, inconvenience and loss of financial opportunity’.

The agency should pay George £5,000 compensation ‘for the distress and incon-venience’ their actions and complaint-handling caused, and £5,000 for loss of financial opportunity.

The agency should review and report back to the ombudsman and to George about its operating procedures ‘to ensure they are able to properly take forward funding concerns about individuals such as experts and prevent a recurrence of the failures that arose in this case’.













In a usual day, we manage the processing of in-coming and outgoing post. We both participate in administrating the cases alongside our supportive case managers. This includes contacting instructing bodies and experts, quoting and invoicing for our cases.

We had the opportunity to accompany our Medical Director, Dr Jason Payne-James whilst he was giv-ing evidence at a local court case.

The charge was Failure to Provide a Specimen of Blood After a Serious Road Traffic Accident. The defendant claimed that he “was not in a fit state to understand the requirement to provide a specimen and the ramifications of failing to do so”. The spec-imen of blood would have been taken to find out whether he was under the influence of any drugs or alcohol which could have caused the accident.

As a Forensic Physician, Dr Payne-James was asked to comment on the detailed medical reports as well as the prosecution documentation and con-struct a report. He had to determine whether the client was likely to have been unaware of the re-quirement to provide a sample and the likelihood of prosecution.

Lastly, Dr Payne-James was required to determine whether this was as a result of self-induced intoxica-tion or as a result of injuries that were sustained in the road traffic accident.

After Dr Payne-James’ in depth analysis of the de-fendant’s evidence and the judge’s hour long delib-eration, the defendant case was found guilty and was sentenced to do community service as well as being banned from driving.

After watching Dr Payne-James give evidence it has widened our understanding of court proceedings. It also gave us both a deeper understanding into solicitors’ process within a court case after working beside two trainee solicitors from Gepp & Sons for the day.

We both enjoyed the experience and would love to observe a Crown Court case to get a further under-standing of how different courts work.

R.T.A. Court Case – Chelmsford Magistrates Court Visit by FHC Apprentices

FHC’s first apprentice Ellis Lillywhite (right) is now a full time job role as Assistant Case Manager with us.

Aimee Reeve (left) has since completed her apprenticeship and has moved on to a new company. We wish her every success.

That’s me on the left. Looks pain-ful, doesn’t it? Despite the ap-pearance, I got off lightly- you should see the other guy!

This is just a bit of bruising. Nothing too seri-ous so, give it a few days, and I’ll be back to normal. In the meantime, I’ll just add it to my 5 o’clock shadow to boost my rugged charms.

However, I’ve got to be honest. This isn’t re-ally bruising after all, but just a bit of grease-paint lovingly applied by make-up artist Sa-brina Au at one of our “Patient Focused!” courses where we teach clinicians how to photograph patients. It highlights how easily we can be misled by appearances unless we know the full story lurking behind the main feature. On the courses, we practise on each other and try to make things as re-alistic as the scenarios that present them-selves in everyday clinical practice.

I’ve been a doctor for 26 years, with the first thirteen of those having been spent oper-ating on people. Training to be a neurosur-geon is all very well: you can go to parties and tell people that you’re training to be a brain surgeon. Although that may sound glamorous and sexy, you work such ridicu-lously long hours that you don’t get to go to the parties in the first place. So, I drifted across to forensic and legal medicine thir-teen years ago, and began taking snaps of patients over a decade ago.

One of the problems with photographing patients is that there is little in the way of specialist train-ing. There are countless photography courses out there teaching you how to photograph your favourite pooch or how to capture the big day for the condemned bride and groom, but there’s very little in the way of showing clinicians the correct methods for photo-documenting a pa-tient’s medical condition. And this is particularly ironic, as doctors take photos on a daily basis on their smartphones like everyone else: it’s just that they don’t know how to photograph pa-tients without getting themselves in trouble with the General Medical Council (GMC) or the Infor-mation Commissioner. This is despite the GMC having published guidelines in 2011 on how to photograph patients that would be in line with good medical practice and current legislation.

We offer three-day courses that are accredited with the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medi-cine (FFLM) and the British Institute of Profes-sional Photography (BIPP). We teach on Digital SLR cameras using manual settings. Personal smartphones are a no-no because of data pro-tection concerns.

Provided the students pass the assessment on the final day, they can apply to become Li-centiates of BIPP, which allows them to use the LBIPP post-nominal. As well as covering the ethical and legal aspects of photographing patients (consent, confidentiality, data protec-tion etc) the courses also cover the technical aspects of photography: badly-taken photos are of limited value, so it is important to learn correct photographic techniques as well as the medico-legal stuff.

Training Clinicians How to Photograph Patients Profession-ally, Ethically and Legally.











Left hand photographed perpendicularly, then at an acute angle:“angular distortion”

Each course has two tutors: a senior clinician and a professional photographer. Both are BIPP-qualified. Ultimately, we will be judged on our photos and not whether we have LBIPP written after our names, but these courses pro-vides a foundation for clinicians to develop an area of clinical medicine that is sorely-lacking. Whether it is a suspicious skin lesion that may be an early melanoma, a child with a suspicious rash that could be a developing meningitis, the woman who has been beaten by her partner for years, or the toddler who may have been physi-cally abused by his parents, well-taken photo-graphs can provide an invaluable addition to patient management. We should be embracing this technology and not running away from it. It’s here to stay and to help our lives, not hinder them.

Our courses help clinicians gain the confidence that is required to photograph patients in a way that is professional, ethical and legal and that will benefit patients and clinicians alike.

So, just remember, the next time you see a guy with a black eye, as well as asking yourself “What happened to this poor chap?” it may be that a wet hanky and a firm rub is all that is re-quired. That way, you can save your sympathy for a more deserving cause.

Further details at www.patientfocused.co.uk

by Will Anderson

Dr Will Anderson is the Lead FME for Hampshire Police and British Transport Po-lice. He has been a full-time FME for 13 years and is a Member of the Academic

Committee of the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine (FFLM). He served for sev-eral years on the Board of the FFLM until 2017. He was the Conference Secretary of the FFLM until last year, having organ-ised five Annual Conferences throughout the UK. His Patient Focused! courses are designed for clinicians, but may be of inter-est to lawyers who wish to challenge the validity of medical photographs in the Court setting.

ForensiDoc® is a new App designed for the forensic documentation of injuries, scars, scenes, health assessments, and other events, such as traffic collisions. It provides contemporaneous recording and is applicable to a wide variety of oth-er settings where accurate, timely data capture is required.

This was originally con-ceived as an aid to my clinical work to ensure relevant data capture in situations (eg hospi-tals, scenes of death, prisons, road traffic

collisions) where I would have limited ac-cess to my normal note-taking paperwork or network systems. The key design ele-ments were to capture all relevant infor-mation (in medical terms, this will involve a taking history and undertaking a physi-cal examination) but in particular to be able to capture non-standard information (such as photographic images, body dia-grams, video and audio information).

The App was thus intended to capture all the usual written information but expand it beyond that, utilising the facilities on smartphone or tablet such as still and vid-eo photography, drawing programmes, audio recording, accurate time and GPS location. recording of clinical state.

Thus Body Mass Index, Glasgow Coma Scale, Mini-Mental State Score, Clini-cal Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol, and Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale. All of these provide objective in-dicators of clinical status.

As the App developed it was obvious that it could easily be adapted for any situation where documentation might be needed, and that all the information could be captured on the smartphone or tablet.

Security was a key aspect, and all data is retained on the individual’s own smartphone or tab-let which will have it’s own person-alised security. The data is not accessi-ble to others within

the electronic setting as it is uploaded and encrypted before being converted into a downloadable, editable Word file. This can easily be imported or edited into standardised, locally relevant document formats. Generation of the standardised Word format report is undertaken by a non-retained transmission to an encrypt-ed server for the generation of the docu-ment which is stored on the device into which the data have been entered.

A new App for recording information contemporaneously











The App allows capture of hand-drawn body diagrams (onto standard tem-plates); For the healthcare professional a range of standardised, validated scor-ing systems are incorporated to assist in assessing assorted health conditions in-cluding mental health, head injury, drug dependence and alcohol dependence.

The App can capture data about injuries, scenes, implements, locations, damage to property, geo-locating and accurately timing it.

It was originally perceived of as being of use primarily by and forensic and health-care practitioners who may be working independently or in a range of settings, both inside and outside. ForensiDoc® can also be used by those without spe-cific health, scientific, forensic, legal or technical knowledge to record data in settings (such as road traffic collisions, witnessing possible criminal incidents) where immediacy and accuracy of re-cording are needed, for possible later use.

It is advised that it is used with a Forensi-Graph® (www.forensigraph.com). It will be of use to a variety of other profes-sionals, such as surveyors, architects, veterinarians, the military, those work-ing in law enforcement (such as police or prison officers). The information captured by Foren-siDoc® may then be available for use as evidence in a variety of legal, judicial and tribunal settings.

It is hoped that professionals from many fields will utilise the App, and as the App develops further standardised proforma and data recording can be incorporated.

by Jason Payne-James

As the App is designed for use in any country, users will need to ensure that they comply with local law, statute and professional guidance with regard to the data recorded.

The documentation provided by Foren-siDoc® is contemporaneous, almost in-stantaneous and allows a standardised report to be generated for hard copy print out immediately. The doc capture of all relevant information and outputting it as an editable Word document with accom-panying hand-drawn diagrams and im-ages, audio and video files.

Information is entered in text or radio-button format. Completion of a number of fields are compulsory (identified by or-ange buttons). Each piece of data en-tered is required to be saved before pro-ceeding to the next field. Examples of the data entry points are shown below:

Jason is a forensic physician and a Spe-cialist in Forensic & Legal Medicine with a range of clinical and research interests in forensic medicine and related specialties. He has published widely as a researcher, an author and an editor and collaborated in research projects with organisations

such as the Independent Police Complaints Commission. He qualified in medicine in 1980 at the London Hospital Medical College and has undertaken additional postgraduate education to higher degree level at Cardiff Law School, the Department of Forensic Medicine & Science at the University of Glasgow and with the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland. He is Honorary Senior Lecturer at Cameron Forensic Medical Sciences, Barts & the London School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Lon-don, UK. He is Honorary Consultant for Paediatric & Adult Emer-gency Medicine at St George’s Hospital, London. He is an exter-nal Consultant to the National Crime Agency and to the National Injuries Database and is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Foren-sic & Legal Medicine. He is Past President of the World Police Medical Officers Association and of the Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine.











Apprenticeships are a great way to earn while you learn, and mine has been an invaluable step on my career path.

It’s made a huge difference to my life and has given me the training and confidence to learn in a safe environment whilst be-ing very much part of the team. I would encourage employers to find out more about apprenticeships and the benefits they can bring. FHC has definitely seen the rewards of employing apprentices and I wouldn’t have the skills or experi-ence I have today without my appren-ticeship”

Maisie Taylor recently joined the team in Southminster as FHC’s newest appren-tice, studying for a Level 3 City & Guilds Business Qualification.

Sue Husband, Director of the National Apprentice-ship Service, said:

“The National Appren-ticeship Awards allow talented apprentices and committed employers from across our regions to receive well-deserved

recognition for their apprenticeship achievements.

“The highly commended finalists at these awards show the range of sectors and variety of job roles apprenticeships are available in, and how they can deliver the skills employers need. I congratulate all highly commended finalists on their success in this competition.”

Local Business Highly Commended In National Apprenticeship Awards 2017The team here at Forensic Healthcare Services Ltd (FHC) are celebrating, after being recognised in National Apprentice-ship Awards 2017

Forensic Healthcare, based in Southmin-ster, Essex has been highly commend-ed at the East of England regional final of the National Apprenticeship Awards 2017 in the Small Employer of the Year Category.

The Awards, now in their fourteenth year, are run by the National Apprenticeship Service and recognise excellence in two areas: businesses that grow their own talent with apprentices and apprentices who have made a significant contribution to their workplaces.

FHC provides expert witness and media-tion services to the Criminal Justice sys-tem and the Civil Courts. Our clients in-clude solicitors, police services, the CPS, Coroners and the armed forces and we work with experts in over 300 speciali-ties.

Judy Payne-James Managing Director says “Apprentices are hugely important to FHC and we are delighted that every-one’s hard work and dedication has been recognised in this way. Any business is dependent on the quality of its staff, and the relationship between staff members. We have always felt that it is important to assist young people to develop. The mixed practical and learning aspects of apprenticeships are extensions of our belief that continuing professional de-velopment is key to staff job satisfaction and to feeling valued as part of a team.”

As a former apprentice, Ellis Lillywhite who is now a full time case manager at Forensic Healthcare Services after com-pleting her City & Guilds Legal Executive qualification says, “I was excited to hear that FHC had been nominated and had a wonderful day out at the awards cer-emony.

Maisie Taylor is currently completing a Level 3 BTEC Business Administration Apprenticeship with Gingernut Media. Ellis Lilly-white is currently completing a Level 3 CILEx Legal Administra-tion qualification with CILEx Law School.

Zeena Cala, Maisie Taylor, Ellis Lillywhite and Matt O’Conner.








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provision of medical, psychiatric,provision of meedical, psychiatric,

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civil and otherlaw courts and tribunals.

psychological, scienti�c andgeneral expert witnesses forall family criminal,

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Director of FHC Experts for Law, Jason Payne-James, is co-author of the new 13th Edition of the clas-sic Simpson’s Forensic Medicine. The book has been reviewed by Dr Alistair Irvine Consultant in Clini-cal Forensic Medicine.

This thirteenth and latest edition of Simpson’s Forensic Medicine clearly demonstrated how far Forensic Medi-cine, and in particular Clinical Foren-

sic Medicine, has developed since Keith Simpson published his first edition in 1947.

The book is divided into twenty four chapters with three appen-dices which cover the wide range of subjects and topics within forensic medicine.

Each chapter is produced in an easily readable style and the use of colour printing significantly enhances the readability of the book with colour tables, figures, and photographs placed appropriately throughout.

Each chapter is produced in an easily readable style and the use of colour printing significantly enhances the readability of the book with colour tables, figures, and photographs placed appropriately throughout.

The large number of coloured photographs is particularly use-ful, being of high quality and appropriately placed they signifi-cantly enhance the text in the various chapters.

The book particularly endeared itself to me at an early stage when it provided caution about the risks of overinterpretation of medical findings, stating particularly on page 1 that:

“Fraudulent professional and “hired guns” risk undermining their own professions, in addition to causing miscarriages of justice where the innocent may be convicted and the guilty acquitted. It is sometimes difficult for medical and scientific professionals to realise that their evidence is only part of a body of evidence, and

that unlike the fictional media, the solving of crimes is generally the result of meticulous painstaking and often tedious effort as part of a multi professional team”.

Wise words, for unfortunately over-interpretation is a recur-ring problem, which occurs too frequently, with practitioners providing unbalanced opinions and attaching much greater weight to the clinical findings than can be justified.

This book remains authoritative and is in many respects essen-tial reading for all medical practitioners, who will inevitably, at some stage in their careers, have exposure to and involvement with some aspect of Forensic Medicine. It is also likely to be particularly useful for the young practitioner entering the field of clinical forensic medicine for the first time.

However, there is unfortunately no chapter in the book covering the issue of Custody Medicine, in particular the issues of fitness to be detained and fitness to be interviewed which would be of particular use to Forensic Medical Examiners and it may be that this is an area that could be considered for inclusion in any future edition.

Overall the authors have done a superb job, for this is an at-tractive, high quality publication which is concise, authoritative, and comprehensive, produced to a very high standard and, above all, is very good value with a recommended retail price of £49.99.

By Dr Alistair Irvine

I have for over 30 years been a practitioner of Clinical Forensic Medicine, a Forensic Medical Examiner to Cleveland Police and also for 35 years I worked as a principal in General Medical Practice.

In my role as a Forensic Medical Examiner I have during much of the past 30 years regularly examined in the region of 1000 people each year who are either victims or suspects of crime.

My work in Clinical Forensic Medicine includes, among other things, all forms of Offences against the Person including murder and serious wounding, the interpretation of wounds, adult and child sexual offences, Road Traffic Act (drink/drugs and driving), police custody issues including fitness for detention and interview, and complaints against police I regu-larly give evidence in Court for the prosecution as well as the defence in my Forensic Medical Examiner role and in other areas following instruc-tions from CPS and others.

In my role as an Expert in Clinical Forensic Medicine I prepare more than 250 reports a year for both defence and prosecution and appear before the full range of tribunals involved in these cases including the Court of Appeal, attending court and giving evidence on several occasions each month.

Until was an active member of the Association of Forensic Physicians for 25 years; a member of the Council of the Association; Founder Fellow of the Section in Clinical Forensic Medicine at the Royal Society of Medi-cine; member of the Council of the Section and Honorary Secretary for a two-year term.; member of the British Academy of Forensic Sciences and a Founding Member of the Expert Witness Institute.

Elected a Fellow of the Australian College of Legal Medicine in 2005 and elected a Foundation Fellow of the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medi-cine established at The Royal College of Physicians of London in 2006.

SIMPSON’S FORENSIC MEDICINE, THIRTEENTH EDITION







For Expert Witnesses

Choose FHC

provision of medical, psychiatric,provision of meedical, psychiatric,

T 01702 711140 F 01702 711153 DX 52851 Leigh on Sea

civil and otherlaw courts and tribunals.

psychological, scienti�c andgeneral expert witnesses forall family criminal,

The specialist resource for the The specialist rresource for the




Experts Forum - Forensic Healthcare Ltd · 2018-07-02 · Experts Forum Experts for Law &...

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