Fees & Rates

1. In consideration of the provision of my services as expert witness under the Appointment, my hourly rate is £195. My time will be charged in units of 1/4 of an hour. The daily rate assumes a working day of 8 hours (including travel).
2. All rates quoted are exclusive of VAT and subject to review annually.
3. The Schedule contains an estimate of my fees to cover the initial work. I will keep these under review and advise you or your Client as promptly as possible if I believe they will be exceeded). The Schedule also includes details of my fees for Court appearances, Conferences with Counsel and Client meetings (if or to the extent they differ from the quoted rate).
4. I will charge all time spent in connection with this Appointment, including but not limited to, all investigations, preparing reports, and telephone or written attendance on your Client and/or Instructing Solicitors. Travel time from [hospital/consulting rooms] will be charged.
5. I will keep a note of the time that I spend on this matter on an hourly basis of £195. My time will be charged in units of 1/4 of an hour and I will submit this with my invoices.
6. All disbursements will be reimbursed. Disbursements will include travel, photocopying, and reasonable accommodation and subsistence costs (as required). Any travel will only be within the United Kingdom; rail and plane travel will be second class and car mileage charged according to the Inland Revenue standard rates. I will provide your Client with receipted invoices in respect of all disbursements claimed.
7. I will invoice upon delivery of my report (subject to clause 1.8 in respect of matters funded by Legal Aid). Interest on late payment will be incurred beyond 30 days. Late payment is set at 8% above the “reference rate” covering the sixth month period in which the debt becomes late. The “reference rate” for 1st January to 30th June is the Bank of England’s base rate on 31st December and, for 1st July to 31st December, it is the base rate on 30th June.
8. Invoices will be addressed to your Client but sent to your offices. You will arrange for these to be paid promptly. If you have any reason to believe your Client or other paying party may be unable to pay any fees or other sums due to me you will notify me immediately. If the fees are funded by the Legal Aid Board or other third party you will advise me before the Appointment is confirmed and you will ensure all invoices are promptly forwarded and settlement made within 30 days of the date of the invoice.
9. Where I am instructed as a Single Joint Expert by the solicitors of both parties, both firms of Instructing Solicitors will be jointly and severally liable for the fees and disbursements. Where I am instructed by an Agency which has itself been instructed by solicitors, both the Agency and its Instructing Solicitors will be jointly and severally liable for payment of the fees and disbursements.
10. If any payment due to me under the terms of the Appointment is not paid by the due date for payment (the “Due Date”), interest shall accrue on the overdue amount at the statutory rate. Such interest shall accrue on a daily basis from the Due Date until the date of actual payment, whether before or after judgment.

Court Appearances

1. I am obliged to give a minimum of 6 weeks’ notice to my NHS Hospital Trust for leave of absence. This is because out-patient clinics and operating theatre lists are normally booked well in advance. Time is therefore needed to either cancel or rebook large numbers of patients’ appointments. Once a date has been booked as leave for court attendance, it is not usually possible for me to re-instate either NHS or private work with less than 6 weeks’ notice. I will therefore work to the following schedule. In the event of any court appearance being cancelled, for whatever reason, the full fee shall be paid unless I receive notification 7 days in advance. A cancellation charge of half the court fee per day booked will be paid where notification of cancellation is received with between 8 and 21 days notice, and 20% of the court fee per day booked will be paid if notification is received between 22 and 42 days in advance. In respect of notification received in advance of 43 days, all charges will be waived.
2. My rate is £1,560 per day or part thereof, plus travel, accommodation & sundry expenses. The costs of travel or overnight accommodation will be charged at agreed rates. Any travel will only be within the United Kingdom; rail and plane travel will be second class and car mileage charged according to the Inland Revenue standard rates. I will provide your Client with receipted invoices in respect of all disbursements claimed.
3. No charges will be payable in respect of a consultation or appointment with Instructing Solicitors and/or your Client where at least 48 hours notice of cancellation is given. If the consultation or appointment is cancelled less than 48 hours in advance, an administrative fee of £195 will be levied.
4. If your Client and/or Instructing Solicitors fail[s] to attend a consultation or appointment without notice, your Client shall pay on demand the sum of £195 by way of liquidated damages. The parties confirm that this sum represents a genuine pre-estimate of the loss of earnings that I would suffer in the event that your Client and/or Instructing Solicitors fail[s] to attend a consultation or appointment without notice.

Instructing Solicitors’ Obligations

Instructing Solicitors:

1. are responsible for giving adequate instructions, and obtaining all relevant notes, records and investigations, and shall check that all relevant matters are addressed in the reports.
2. shall:
3. provide me with, or procure the provision of, all information which mightreasonably be expected to be relevant in enabling me to fulfil my responsibilities under this Appointment (“Information”) as and when it becomes available to your Client and/or to Instructing Solicitors;
4. ensure that the Information provided or prepared by your Client or on your Client’s behalf is complete and accurate in all material aspects and not misleading and is updated as necessary (informing me immediately if your Client discovers or has reason to believe that any of the Information is, or becomes, untrue, incomplete, misleading or inaccurate in any material respect). Instructing Solicitors acknowledge that I shall, and am entitled to, rely upon all Information provided to me, that I shall not be responsible for the accuracy or verification of any Information and that my report will be provided only on the basis of the Information disclosed to me by you.
5. confirm that my charges are no higher than reasonably necessary for the purpose of litigation bearing in mind my professional expertise and where necessary, that prior approval has been obtained from the Legal Aid Board or any other third party pay or in respect of my charges.
6. agree to comply with and to take all reasonable steps to assist me in complying with the Protocol and the Civil Procedures Rules referred to in Clause 3.

Duties to the Court

I confirm that I have read and will comply with the Official Experts Protocol published by the Civil Justice Council (the “Protocol”) and Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules. In particular I understand that, although I owe a duty of care to your Client and Instructing Solicitors to exercise reasonable skill and care in carrying out their instructions, my primary duty as an expert witness is to provide independent and unbiased evidence to the Court.

Liability

My total liability for professional negligence (excluding any liability for fraud or wilful misconduct) under or in connection with this Appointment shall not exceed £7500.

Insurance

I confirm that I hold professional indemnity insurance in respect of the Appointment with Medical Protection Society.

Right to Terminate

The Appointment is subject to receipt of all necessary and relevant information from you in sufficient time to prepare a response and payment of monthly invoices as they fall due. I will advise you promptly if:

1. Instructions are not acceptable because, for example, they require work that falls outside my expertise, impose unrealistic deadlines, or are insufficiently clear;
2. I consider that instructions are or have become insufficient to complete the work;
3. I become aware that I may not be able to fulfil any of the terms of Appointment; or
4. I am not satisfied that I can comply with any orders that have been made.

This retainer may be terminated by Instructing Solicitors or your Client at any time by written notice subject to discussion in accordance with the Protocol. Where I am instructed jointly termination will be effective when I have received written notice from all instructing parties. Termination will not affect my entitlement to payment of any fees for work conducted or invoiced before the date of the termination.

Upon termination, all documents and materials provided to me for the purpose of this Appointment must be returned promptly to Instructing Solicitors save for one copy that I may retain for my records.

Intellectual Property

I will own the copyright in all reports and/or materials produced by me. Subject to receipt of all payments due your Client is authorised to use the same for the purposes of the matters contained in the Schedule.

Confidentiality

I will treat all information, facts, matters, documents and all other materials of a confidential nature which I receive or create as a result of this Appointment as confidential, (except insofar as I have to refer to them when setting out the substance of my instructions in your report or as required by law).

Responsibility

I confirm that the work which is carried out in relation to this retainer will be my own and will not be delegated or sub-contracted to someone else.

Conflict

You have notified me in writing of all parties who have some limited involvement in this matter including Counsel and solicitors and other experts already instructed in this case. I confirm that I do not have an actual or potential conflict of interest in accepting this Appointment in respect of any parties so named and that I will let you know without delay if I become aware of such a conflict.

Joint Instructions

In circumstances where I am jointly instructed by Instructing Solicitors, both sets of Instructing Solicitors must sign and return a copy of this letter and completed schedule within seven days and ensure it is copied to all Instructing Solicitors. It is for Instructing Solicitors to resolve any disagreements the parties may have in relation to instructions or to clearly identify areas of disagreement in the Schedule. Instructing Solicitors should note that Paragraph 17 of the Protocol will apply.

Governing Law

This Appointment is subject to English law and the parties hereto submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

Force Majeure

I shall not be liable for any delay in the performance of any obligations under this Appointment (and the time for the performance of any obligations under this Appointment shall be extended accordingly) if such delay arises from or is attributable to acts, events, omissions or accidents beyond my reasonable control including but not restricted to, ill health, acts of God or of the public enemy, fires, floods, epidemics, riots, quarantine restrictions, strikes, freight embargoes, earthquakes, electrical outages, computer or communications failures, severe weather, and acts or omissions of subcontractors or third parties.