Seeing a medical expert: what to expect

The rules on this page come from the court rules and guidance in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and from the General Medical Council (GMC). We last checked them on 6 October 2026. This is general information, not legal or medical advice. Your solicitor can tell you how it works in your own claim.

If you have a solicitor, please speak to them before contacting an expert yourself. They can tell you whether your claim needs a medical report, and how one would be arranged.

Before the appointment

Why have I been asked to see an expert?

A claim for compensation for harm to your health may need evidence about how you have been affected. A medical expert gives that evidence in a written report. The report is for your claim. It is not treatment, and the expert is not there to start treating you.

You may hear the appointment called a medical examination, a personal injury medical examination or an independent medical examination. In England and Wales, the template letter in the pre-action rules for personal injury claims asks the medical expert about your medical history, how you are now, your ability to work, how things are likely to change, and any treatment that might help.

What you can ask for. You can ask your solicitor why this expert was chosen, and what questions they have been asked. In England and Wales, the expert’s report has to set out the substance of all the instructions they were given (Civil Procedure Rules, rule 35.10).

Whose side is the expert on?

No one’s. An expert’s job is to help the court, not to take a side, even when one side asked for the report and pays for it. In civil claims in England and Wales, the Civil Procedure Rules say: “It is the duty of experts to help the court on matters within their expertise. This duty overrides any obligation to the person from whom experts have received instructions or by whom they are paid.” (Part 35, rule 35.3). The Family Procedure Rules say the same for family cases in England and Wales (rule 25.3).

The guidance for experts in England and Wales gives a simple test: an independent expert “would express the same opinion if given the same instructions by another party”.

The other parts of the UK say the same in their own way. In Scotland, where experts are often called skilled witnesses, the UK Supreme Court has said they must be independent and impartial. In Northern Ireland, the High Court’s guidance says experts have “an overriding duty to help the court”, and an expert’s report in the High Court must include a declaration saying so. The GMC’s guidance, which applies to doctors across the UK, says an expert’s duty to the court overrides any obligation to the person instructing or paying them.

Your solicitor may have chosen the expert, or the expert may report for both sides. In England and Wales the court can direct that one expert gives evidence for everyone, called a single joint expert (rule 35.7). Sometimes the other side asks its own expert to report as well. Your solicitor can tell you which applies in your claim.

Will I have to pay for the report?

Ask your solicitor. They can explain who pays for the report in your claim, and whether you could ever have to pay towards it.

Who will I see?

If your claim is about the effect on your mental health, you may see a psychiatrist or a psychologist. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has qualified in psychiatry: the diagnosis, management and prevention of mental health problems. A psychologist is trained in psychology, the study of how people think, act, react and interact, and is not usually a medical doctor.

If part of your claim is about your physical health, you may be asked to see another kind of specialist as well.

What you can ask for. You can ask your solicitor for the expert’s name and specialty before the appointment. If something would make the appointment easier, such as seeing a woman, tell your solicitor before it is booked and ask whether it can be arranged.

Can I bring someone with me?

Ask your solicitor before the appointment whether someone can come with you, and whether they can stay in the room for all of it.

If you are asked to have an intimate examination, GMC guidance says the doctor should offer you a chaperone, and should agree to a reasonable request to have a relative, friend or advocate with you as well.

What if I need an interpreter, or find talking hard?

Tell your solicitor what you need before the appointment is booked. That might be an interpreter, other support with communicating, extra time, breaks, a smaller room or someone you trust nearby. It is easier to arrange things before the day than on it.

What you can ask for. Ask your solicitor who arranges an interpreter or other support, and who pays for it.

At the appointment

What happens at the appointment?

You talk with the expert about your health. Whether there is a physical examination as well depends on which specialist you are seeing and what your claim is about.

In England and Wales, the pre-action rules for personal injury claims say your solicitor organises the expert’s access to your relevant medical records.

If there is a physical examination, GMC guidance says the doctor should explain what it involves before it begins. For an intimate examination, they must have your consent first, and they should stop if you ask them to. If you are unsure about an examination, talk to your solicitor beforehand. They can explain what saying no could mean for your claim.

You can ask for a break at any point, and you can tell the expert if there is something you would rather not talk about.

What you can ask for. Ask how long the appointment is expected to take, and whether it could take place somewhere you feel more comfortable, or by video.

Do I have to talk about what happened?

The expert is there to give an opinion on your health, within their expertise. Deciding what happened is for the court. Where the facts are disputed, the guidance for experts in England and Wales says they should not normally take a view on which version is true.

If there is something you don’t want to go over, you can say so.

What you can ask for. Ask your solicitor beforehand what the expert has been sent, such as your statement and your records. It can help to know what they have already read.

What you say, and the report

Who sees what I say?

This one matters, so it is set out plainly.

What you tell the expert is not private in the way a conversation with your own doctor is. It may be written into the report. In England and Wales, the report is addressed to the court, not to the side that asked for it. A report can normally only be used in a court claim if it has been shared with the other side, so the other side and the court may read what you said.

The rules on who sees a report are different in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Your solicitor can tell you who will see it in your claim.

What you can ask for. At the start of the appointment, you can ask the expert what will go in the report. You can also ask your solicitor, beforehand, who will see it.

What happens to the report?

The expert sends the report to the solicitor who asked for it. A single joint expert sends it to both sides at the same time.

If something in it is factually wrong, such as a date, a name or something you didn’t say, tell your solicitor. An expert can be asked to correct mistakes and make things clear, but nobody should ask them to change their true opinion. That is what makes the report independent.

In England and Wales, the other side can send the expert written questions to clarify the report, and the answers become part of the report (rule 35.6). If both sides have experts in the same field, the court can ask the experts to discuss the case and set out where they agree and disagree (rule 35.12).

What you can ask for. Ask your solicitor to go through the report with you rather than just sending it. Reading it alone can be hard.

How long does it take?

It varies from claim to claim. Your solicitor should be able to tell you what to expect.

What you can ask for. Ask your solicitor for the expected date of the appointment and of the report, and ask them to tell you if either changes.

If you don’t have a solicitor

We give information, not legal or medical advice, and we can’t take on your case.

A solicitor can tell you whether you may have a claim and what it would involve. Read about civil claims and getting advice, and our list of questions to ask a solicitor.

Read about the people you might meet if you make a claim. Looking for a different question? Go back to common questions.

Where this information comes from

• Civil Procedure Rules, Part 35: experts and assessors (rules 35.3, 35.6, 35.7, 35.10, 35.12 and 35.13)
• Practice Direction 35: experts and assessors (paragraph 3.1)
• Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims (paragraphs 7.2 to 7.7, and Annex D)
• Civil Justice Council: Guidance for the instruction of experts in civil claims (paragraphs 11, 46, 58 and 65)
• Family Procedure Rules, Part 25 (rule 25.3)
• UK Supreme Court: Kennedy v Cordia (Services) LLP (Scotland) [2016] UKSC 6, paragraphs 51 and 52
• Judiciary NI: Guidance for the instruction of experts in civil claims in the High Court (paragraph 6), and Practice Direction 7/2014 (expert’s declaration)
• GMC: Providing witness statements or expert evidence as part of legal proceedings (paragraph 22)
• GMC: Intimate examinations and chaperones (paragraphs 7 to 9, 13, 16 and 20)
• NHS Health Careers: Differences between psychology, psychiatry and psychotherapy

Checked on 6 October 2026. Rules can change, so always check the official pages before you act.