Court issue

[MickCBR]

My court date is now pending & I have two medical legal reports for injuries I received following a RTC.
These reports contain claims I removed a cast from my injured arm & missed subsequent hospital appointments.
I have since had my medical records amended & a apology for these claims from the hospital where I was treated..
The issue is, these two reports still need to be amended & the claims removed which were copied from my hospital records.
My problem is, the legal team wish to submit these reports as they stand as evidence.
The solicitor is pushing me to sign a 'statement of truth' declaration. Even though he's aware the reports contain the factual inaccuracies. (removal of cast etc
I don't agree with the course of action & believe it will undermine the amount of compensation which could be argued for.
Plus if I sign a 'statement of truth' declaration I believe this puts me in contempt of court as I know the reports to be wrong.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

PS I have asked the solicitor for any proof that he has actually contacted the authors of said reports in order to have them amended. He has failed to do this. I've requested this info from him going on now for 3 months. He claimed he has been contacting them from Nov 2021.

Mick.

[R0b]

Certainly if there are factual inaccuracies and you are cross-examined on this but under oath give a different version then yes it could alter any compensation you may be entitled to or worse, the judge deciding you were fundamentally dishonest.

If you are getting nowhere with the solicitor then you should consider making a formal complaint and asking for the complaints procedure. If you believe the solicitor you are dealing with is acting inappropriately then you may also want to consider reporting both the solicitor and the firm to the SRA if there is a breach of any code of conduct (see link here for code of conduct for solicitors), but that could jeopardise you case and inevitably the relationship so you will need to decide what is best for you, knowing what you know.

[MickCBR]

Thanks for your reply. I'm going to try & have a conversation with the solicitor today regarding this.

Here is a copy of his last reply:

I would also refer you to my previous correspondence and repeat our advices. This is nothing to do with the contempt of court. Unfortunately neither Mr X or Mr Y is under any obligation to provide an amended report. Neither has responded to correspondence. We could easily waste more time chasing reports which they will not provide, even if they do, an issue will arise about payment for the original reports which would not be vised - the insurers would not pay for these. Settlement is being delayed and counsel and I are keen to progress settlement discussions. If I have to serve the writ formally, RSA will instruct solicitors who will probably seek their own medical reports causing more delay.Their experts will seek to minimise your injuries.

Is there a query that I have not contacted the experts?Please clarify. Your correspondence appears to suggest that.


Thank you.

'For 3 months now he has failed to give me any evidence he has contacted these consultants to amended said reports.
What he is unaware of is, I've contacted one of them & they are willing to change the inaccuracies. But have to do so with the solicitors request.
Just trying to work out what his game is. He seemed happy to have the reports amended until he spoke with the barrister he works with. He did mention the barristers wife is a doctor in the same hospital. ?????

[MickCBR]

Thanks for your reply. I'm going to try & have a conversation with the solicitor today regarding this.

Here is a copy of his last reply:

I would also refer you to my previous correspondence and repeat our advices. This is nothing to do with the contempt of court. Unfortunately neither Mr X or Mr Y is under any obligation to provide an amended report. Neither has responded to correspondence. We could easily waste more time chasing reports which they will not provide, even if they do, an issue will arise about payment for the original reports which would not be vised - the insurers would not pay for these. Settlement is being delayed and counsel and I are keen to progress settlement discussions. If I have to serve the writ formally, RSA will instruct solicitors who will probably seek their own medical reports causing more delay.Their experts will seek to minimise your injuries.

Is there a query that I have not contacted the experts?Please clarify. Your correspondence appears to suggest that.


Thank you.

'For 3 months now he has failed to give me any evidence he has contacted these consultants to amended said reports.
What he is unaware of is, I've contacted one of them & they are willing to change the inaccuracies. But have to do so with the solicitors request.
Just trying to work out what his game is. He seemed happy to have the reports amended until he spoke with the barrister he works with. He did mention the barristers wife is a doctor in the same hospital. ?????

That's the same hospital where the false claims surfaced!

[R0b]

I'm not an RTA expert but I believe the solicitor is correct to some extend when he says that the expert is not required to amend the report. YOu may want to have a look at the Civil Justice Council guidance for experts - link here. Specifically look at para 64 onwards around amendments.

If they are simply wanting to initiate settlement discussions without commencing proceedings then I'm not sure why you want to worrying about this until you see what the other side offers in terms of settlement.

Make a subject access request and specifically call out the documents in your request which you should have been provided within 30 days yet you've spent 3 months faffing around trying to get an answer from the solicitor! Alternatively just ask them to confirm in writing when they attempted to contact the medical experts and keep that as evidence.

[MickCBR]

Thanks for the input, much appreciated.
I'm worried because once I sign these reports, then that's my medical evidence disclosed. I cannot amend them or argue they're incorrect. As any decent barrister will argue if I signed them then I must be happy with the contents. They will then see me as a dishonest person & question what else in my case will I state is not true or fact. Its simply giving the other side a penalty kick imo.

Phoned again today, was given the reply he's not in the office again.

Can I request in a SAR the attempts he's made to contact the authors of these reports. Can I also request what imput this barrister advising him on this has given?