Medico-legal report fees in the UK can vary depending on the type of expert instructed. When pursuing personal injury compensation, it’s important that the full extent of the harm caused to the claimant is documented. This allows the claim to be valued proportionately with how the injury has impacted the claimant’s life.
In this guide, we will examine medico-legal report fees in the UK. We will also look at why these reports are important and the influence that they can have on a claim.
In addition to this, we will look at how you can find a medical expert to create a report to support a claim. We’ll also examine the advantages that using a medical agency to do this can offer.
If you would like to be connected with a medico-legal expert, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today. Otherwise, read on for more information.
Select A Section
- What Are Medico-Legal Reports?
- What Should A Medico-Legal Report Contain?
- How Do You Obtain Medico-Legal Reports?
- How Much Are Medico-Legal Report Fees?
- Do You Need To Pay Medico-Legal Report Fees Upfront?
- Get Help Funding Medico-Legal Report Fees
What Are Medico-Legal Reports?
A medico-legal report can support a claimant’s pursuit of compensation. It does this by providing a full, thorough account of the injuries sustained in an accident.
In addition to this, it confirms that the injuries sustained are consistent with the accident that the claimant was involved in. Furthermore, it provides the expert’s opinion on the prognosis of the injuries, including any future treatment or long-term effects.
In order to create a report, a medico-legal expert will need access to the claimant’s past medical records. They’ll also attend an appointment with the claimant, where they can speak with them and assess the extent of their injuries.
Medico-legal report fees in the UK reflect the importance of these reports and the level of expertise that goes into creating them. Without a medical report, the full scope of the claimant’s injuries may not be considered when the compensation settlement is valued.
What Should A Medico-Legal Report Contain?
Before we break down medico-legal report fees in the UK, let’s take a closer look at what the report would contain. A medical report should include:
- Information about the circumstances of the accident and a confirmation that the injuries sustained are consistent with this.
- Details of the nature of the injuries and how the claimant has been affected by them.
- Whether any treatment has been administered and, if so, how effective it was.
- Details of any permanent issues or treatment that may be needed in the future, as well as information on how long the claimant is expected to take to recover.
Each of these pieces of information is essential in accurately valuing a claim. For instance, without details of the prognosis, the compensation awarded might not take into account the long-term effects that the injury will have on the claimant’s quality of life.
How Do You Obtain Medico-Legal Reports?
There are a set of steps that you can take to obtain a medico-legal report. You should:
- Find a medical expert that specialises in the relevant field. For example, if the compensation claim is for a broken tooth, you would find a dentist to write the report. Experts can be found either directly or by working with an agency.
- Submit an instruction letter, explaining the circumstances of the accident and details of the claim. This instruction letter will request that they create a report and will request that they focus on the severity of the injury and any long-term effects.
- Provide medical reports alongside the instruction letter.
- Arrange an appointment for the claimant with the expert at a suitable time.
- Once the appointment has been set up, the claimant can attend and have their injuries assessed.
After the medical appointment, the report will be written. This will usually be completed around a month after the assessment.
It’s important to note that, although a medical expert can confirm that the injuries are consistent with the accident type, they cannot comment on the validity of a claim. They also won’t make a judgement on whether the defendant was liable or not; the extent of their assessment is purely medical.
Please read on for more information on how much medico-legal report fees in the UK can be.
How Much Are Medico-Legal Report Fees?
Medico-legal report fees in the UK can vary depending on how severe and complex the injury is. It will also vary based on the level of expertise required to create the report. For instance, whiplash injuries are relatively easy to diagnose and create a report around. Therefore, the overall cost of the report will be relatively low, generally between £300-£500.
More complex injuries, however, may attract a higher fee. This is because of the level of expertise is required to assess these injuries and compile the findings in a report.
Furthermore, reports on more complex injuries will often take longer to write than reports for simple injuries. For example, a medical report for an industrial disease claim could cost between £1,500 and £3,000.
Do You Need To Pay Medico-Legal Report Fees Upfront?
Medico-legal report fees in the UK are necessary. Assessing a claimant and writing an expert medico-legal report based on the findings can take hours. Furthermore, this could be time that is taken away from seeing other patients.
In addition to this, the medical professional writing the report will be an expert in the relevant area of medicine. They are offering their knowledge and effort in compiling this report and will draw on their experience in their field to do so. Because of this, they deserve to be compensated for their time, effort and expertise.
Medical experts can be paid upfront for writing a medical report. However, read on to find out more about how this can help.
Get Help Funding Medico-Legal Report Fees
While a medical expert can be sought out directly to create a medical report as part of a claim, they can also be instructed by a medical agency. There are a number of advantages of using a medical agency to arrange a medico-legal report.
For example:
- The agency can arrange for the report to be written by the expert. They can use their network of medical professionals to find an appropriate expert in a suitable geographical location.
- They’ll send the letter of instruction to the medical professional. In addition to this, the agency can also liaise with the expert to arrange an appointment.
- The initial cost of the report can be deferred when you go through an agency. Because of this, medico-legal report fees in the UK can be paid at the end of the claim once the costs have been claimed back from the defendant.
- If there are any delays in the report being produced, a medical agency can chase this up.
We hope that you have found our guide on medico-legal report fees in the UK useful. For more information, or to be connected with experts to produce medico-legal reports, get in touch with our team today.
If you’d like to learn more, see this government guide on medico-legal aspects.