Being an associate expert witness with Bush & Co

Working as an associate expert witness offers a valuable opportunity to use your specialist clinical expertise to inform and support the medico legal process. Your valued opinion, based on your knowledge and experience, is used in complex personal injury and clinical negligence cases to bring clarity and objectivity to a case. We spoke with one of our associate expert witnesses, Alexa Dawson, about her experience, the benefits and challenges of the role, why she chose Bush & Co, and what advice she would give to other professionals considering the expert witness world.

What made you become an associate expert witness?

I work part-time in the NHS and was looking to supplement my income, but I wanted to work in a different environment to healthcare having worked in the NHS for over 25 years. I recognised I had experience and skills that were transferable and I wanted to apply those skills. Working as an associate expert witness uses the knowledge I have gained clinically but also allows me to work within a different sector, which I find really interesting.

What do you enjoy about this role?

I enjoy working in a sector which is quite different to healthcare. The challenges and difficulties encountered in the NHS are not there in the legal sector. I enjoy working with solicitors and barristers; they are quite different to GPs and orthopaedic surgeons…in a nice way! I enjoy learning more about the law and the legal principles that underpin the work we do.

The experience gained as an associate expert witness complements my work in the NHS and has made me a better clinician. I enjoy the flexibility of the role and working from home. Personally, I also really enjoy writing reports; the work is quite academic, which suits who I am.

What do you find challenging about the role?

At times there can be a little uncertainty around when you will be instructed, having agreed to take on enquiries that come in. Whilst there is a process that legal teams follow in terms of instructing an expert witness, there is no set timeframe from accepting an enquiry to receiving an instruction. This means for lots of people that it cannot be relied upon as a regular stable income. For others though, it is a great boost to existing workload and income.

The team at Bush & Co help to manage this process, as well as managing urgent amends that come in from legal teams. These urgent or last minute amends can be tricky for some people to manage when also working clinically. You definitely need to be comfortable with the unplanned and unpredictable at times.

What do you think about the support that you receive?

Bush & Co are outstanding in terms of the support we can access as an associate; I would never work with any other company. Cathy Preston, Head of Expert Witness Services, was the first person I met at Bush & Co and she was the reason I chose the company. She was lovely to speak to, kind and generous with her time plus her experience and knowledge was impressive and invaluable when I started working as an associate. Bush & Co make me feel my work is valuable.

They are always there to answer questions, even if you feel you should know the answer but need a second opinion. The team are approachable and friendly. They are worth their weight in gold. I often think that if they were a division of the NHS, it would be the best run department in the NHS!

Why did you choose Bush & Co?

Prior to becoming an associate expert witness with Bush & Co, I started working as an expert witness independently and on my own I had to reply to enquiries, respond to solicitors, check my reports and hope that the report I had written was up to standard. I was not able to access training easily, felt I wasn’t learning anything and had no way of knowing if my report was good enough.

I felt I needed additional support to continue working as an expert witness and wanted to work alongside people that had both more experience than me and a thorough understanding of legal principles and the law. I decided to work with Bush & Co because of the infrastructure around me and my clinical expertise.

What advice would you give to anyone who is thinking of becoming an expert witness?

Understand what the role involves first because it is not for everyone. I was recently asked to give a training session at my NHS work, entitled “Clinical Negligence in Healthcare; Working as an Expert Witness”. At the end, the general consensus was, “why would you ever want to do that work… it sounds hard and boring… I’d miss my patients”. Not all clinicians like the type of work, so speak to as many people as you can first.

Expert witness work is a rewarding way of applying your existing clinical expertise as well as continuing with your professional development and growth, but it can be a complex landscape to navigate alone. At Bush & Co, we pride ourselves on being an industry-leading service provider, offering well-coordinated administrative and logistical assistance, clear and concise processes, and access to an industry-leading support network. You can get in touch with us about associate expert witness opportunities by completing the form found here or by emailing hello@bushco.co.uk.