Built around how
abuse claims actually run.
Our practice exists to make instructing a psychiatric expert in an abuse injury claim straightforward, defensible and proportionate. Transparent terms, fixed fees where the case permits, LAA prior-authority quotations, and a panel built specifically around abuse litigation — civil, CICA, redress scheme and Court of Protection.
Built for the firms that conduct
abuse litigation at scale.
Most medico-legal agencies cover the entire UK personal injury market. We do not. Our specialist expert witness panel exists to serve a single category of work — psychiatric expert witness evidence in abuse injury claims — and the practice is structured around the procedural and evidential demands that category creates, from CPR Part 35 compliance in civil abuse claims through FPR Part 25 duties in family proceedings and the evidential threshold CICA and criminal-injury tribunals apply to psychiatric sequelae of abuse.
Clear and Transparent
Payment Options.
Fixed Fees
Standard Condition & Prognosis and CICA reports are quoted at a fixed fee at intake. Complex causation, quantum and historic matters are quoted on an hourly basis with a written estimate of total cost.
Written Quotation
Every instruction begins with a written quotation specifying scope, fee basis, estimated timetable and assumptions. Variations are notified before further work is undertaken.
Itemised invoices
Invoices are itemised in the format costs draftsmen and detailed assessment officers expect — separating expert work from agency administration where applicable, in line with Stringer v Copley.
30-Day Terms
Standard payment terms are 30 days from report delivery. LAA-funded matters are aligned to the LAA’s payment cycle, with prior-authority quotations submitted in the LAA’s required format.
Tiered Cancellation Terms
Cancellation fees are tiered by stage — nil before records receipt, partial after records review, full after assessment. The tiers are documented in the engagement letter and visible from intake.
No Contingency Fees
Fees are never contingent on case outcome. The expert’s overriding duty under CPR 35.3 is to the court — and that duty is incompatible with any fee structure that ties payment to result.
Every funding route used
in abuse litigation.
Abuse claims are funded through a wider mix than mainstream PI work. We accept instructions on every basis routinely encountered in the field — and structure quotations to fit each.
Conditional Fee Agreement
Disbursement-funded under the firm’s CFA arrangements, with or without ATE insurance backing. We provide the documentary records detailed assessment officers require to recover expert fees inter-partes following Stringer v Copley and subsequent case law.
Legal Aid Agency — prior authority
LAA prior-authority quotations are submitted in the format required by the LAA’s Guidance on the Remuneration of Expert Witnesses. Our standard quotations sit within the LAA’s hourly rate caps; where a higher rate is justified by case complexity, we provide the supporting rationale for the prior authority application.
Private & insurer-funded
Privately funded matters and insurer-panel instructions on standard commercial terms. Quotations are issued at intake on either fixed-fee or hourly basis depending on complexity; bulk-instruction firms can negotiate framework arrangements.
CICA-funded report work
Reports prepared specifically for the 2012 Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme — structured around the mental injury tariff, the disabling mental illness criteria and the Reviews process. Fees quoted at fixed rate aligned with CICA expectations on proportionality.
Institutional redress schemes
Reports prepared for the principal live institutional redress schemes — including Church of England, Lambeth, Manchester City and comparable arrangements. Quotations reflect the documentary scope each scheme expects rather than full civil-litigation depth.
Seven report formats,
matched to the question.
The right format is the one that answers the question the court is being asked. We help match the format at intake — saving the cost and delay of commissioning the wrong report and re-instructing later.
Explore all report types- 01
Condition & Prognosis
The standard psychiatric report — diagnosis, causation, treatment, prognosis.
- 02
Liability & Causation
Causation-focused evidence for contested matters with apportionment.
- 03
Quantum & Care Needs
Future treatment, care, case management and earnings capacity.
- 04
Psychiatric Assessments
Consultant psychiatric opinion with capacity and risk where relevant.
- 05
Psychological Assessments
Standardised psychometric testing by Chartered Psychologists.
- 06
Single Joint Expert
SJE work under CPR 35.7 with impartiality foregrounded.
- 07
Court of Protection
Capacity assessments under MCA 2005, including COP3 completion.
The frameworks every
report carries.
CPR Part 35
The expert’s overriding duty to the court under CPR 35.3 is the anchor of every instruction.
Practice Direction 35
Reports follow the structural and content requirements of PD35 in full.
CJC 2014 Guidance
Civil Justice Council Guidance for the Instruction of Experts (August 2014, amended December 2014).
RCPsych Guidance
Royal College of Psychiatrists guidance on giving expert evidence to courts and tribunals.
BPS Guidance
British Psychological Society guidelines on psychological evidence in legal proceedings.
GMC & HCPC
All experts hold full GMC or HCPC registration with relevant Specialist Register entries.
MCA 2005
Mental Capacity Act 2005 framework applied to all capacity assessments.
Data & GDPR
UK GDPR compliant, ICO registered. Sensitive material handled under documented data protocols.
Common questions from
Legal Professionals
How quickly can you respond to an enquiry?
Most enquiries receive an initial response within minutes — confirming receipt, flagging immediate questions and starting the conflict check. Expert allocation, fee quotation and the proposed timetable typically follow the same working day. Court-deadline matters are prioritised at intake and an expedited route confirmed immediately.
Do you accept Legal Aid prior-authority instructions?
Yes. Our quotations are structured to fit within LAA hourly rate caps as set out in the Guidance on the Remuneration of Expert Witnesses. Where the case complexity supports a higher hourly rate, we provide the documented rationale for the prior authority application and liaise on amendments where the LAA query the quotation.
Can you act for both claimants and defendants?
Yes. The independence of the expert and the duty under CPR 35.3 is identical regardless of who instructs. Conflict checks are run at intake and any prior involvement with the parties or their solicitors is disclosed in writing before instruction is accepted. Single Joint Expert appointments under CPR 35.7 are accepted on the same terms.
Are draft reports issued for solicitor comment?
No — and the reasoning is the same as the duty under CPR 35.3. The expert’s report is the expert’s report, not a document negotiated between expert and instructing solicitor. Where the report contains factual error, an addendum can be issued. Where the instruction questions need refinement, that is addressed before assessment, not after the report is drafted.
Can the expert see the claimant at home or in a secure setting?
Yes. Domiciliary assessments at the claimant’s home, hospital visits, care home visits, prison visits and assessments in secure psychiatric units are within the standard offering. Choice of venue is ultimately a matter for the expert’s clinical judgement on the case. Remote assessment by secure video link is also available where the expert considers it clinically appropriate.
Will the expert respond to Part 35 questions and attend joint discussions?
Yes — both are within the standard scope of the instruction. Part 35 questions under CPR 35.6 are answered within the time set by the court. Joint expert discussions under CPR 35.12 are attended in person or by video, and the joint statement is prepared collaboratively with the opposing expert and exchanged with both parties’ solicitors.
Do you handle high-volume caseloads or framework arrangements?
Yes. Firms instructing at scale — typically claimant abuse departments and insurer-panel firms — can put in place a framework arrangement covering rates, format, intake routing and reporting cadence. Framework instructions retain the same expert-allocation discipline as one-off matters.
How is sensitive material and claimant anonymity handled?
The agency operates UK GDPR compliant data protocols with documented handling for sensitive material — abuse-related disclosures, social services records, police material and medical records. Claimant identifiers in correspondence default to pseudonyms or initials at the firm’s preference. Internal documents are held under restricted access and destroyed on closure of the matter in line with the firm’s retention requirements.
Ready to send an enquiry?
Brief case summary, procedural stage and any deadlines — most enquiries receive a response within minutes, with expert allocation the same working day.