Medico Legal Practice

Michael Porter and his secretary Mrs Benara Rahman, have written personal injury and clinical negligence reports since 1996. To date (March 2021) they have provided approximately 4450 reports.

Clients are seen in consulting rooms at a General Practitioner surgery (Apollo Surgery in Great Barr). This venue is purpose built for medical consultations and Michael Porter never consults in hospital offices. The services of a chaperone are available, if requested. Personal injury clients have half hour appointments; longer appointments can be arranged for complex cases. Special appointments can be arranged for clients who travel long distances.

Michael Porter and Benara Rahman make every effort to make reports available to solicitors within seven days of clients being seen. Complex personal injury reports may take longer, if the reports require research, literature searches or repeated redrafting. Should solicitors wish to discuss a difficult or complex case over the telephone, Mr Porter will do so at no extra cost. As from April of 2016, Michael Porter’s medico-legal practice has gone paperless and medical reports are provided by e-mail with an e-signature, unless a paper copy is requested. The most usual cause of delay in providing reports is failure to provide adequate medical records before the client is seen, or requests for reports to be amended.

Every effort is made to answer written questions promptly, according to directions in the Civil Procedure Rules Part 35.6.

There are circumstances in which Mr Porter has to see a client, before the medical records have been made available. In these circumstances, the report cannot be issued, until the records have been provided. If the records are available when the client is first seen, the report can be made available in the shortest possible time and the chance of the Court being confused with supplementary reports is minimised.

If clients or solicitors request alterations or additions to medical reports, every effort is made to deal with the request promptly. Errors or omissions of fact can always be altered. Additions can be made, if new evidence becomes available. If a client or a lawyer disputes an opinion, the dispute is considered, but an expert's opinion cannot readily be altered.

An amended report is usually provided, rather than a supplementary report, excepting Part 35 questions. Amended reports are re-dated and a request for amendments is treated as an instruction (Rules in Civil Litigation Civil Justice Council Guidance Item 55). Alterations are made with Liverpool Victoria Insurance Co Ltd –v- Zafar [2019] EWCA civ 392 in mind.

A report for the Court must be the independent product of the expert, uninfluenced by the pressures of litigation (Part 35 Practice Direction 2.3). The expert must remain impartial at all times and the expert’s primary duty is to the Court.

Reports are confined to matters within Mr Porter's range of expertise.

Personal Injury

All soft tissue injuries of the upper limb and hand, including injuries to skin, nerves, tendons and blood vessels.
Fractures and dislocations of the finger phalanges and metacarpals.
Soft tissue facial injuries.
Soft tissue injuries throughout the body, including the lower limbs.
Scarring.
Burns.

Clinical Negligence

Mr Porter has discontinued writing clinical negligence report. No new cases will be seen. Current clinical negligence cases will be supported until the actions are concluded.

Mr Porter does not write reports for criminal cases, or potential cases of child abuse. Mr Porter does not see Litigants in Person and only sees medico-legal clients if referred