FAQ

An expert witness is someone with a specialist knowledge in a particular subject or field. This knowledge may be gained by training and or by experience. not commonly held, or likely to be understood by a layman. The expert witnesses assist the Court in reaching decisions. Their overarching duty is only to the Court and not to the instructing party.

At present we have consultant psychiatrists. We are aiming to include more specialities.

Yes, the experts might get called to provide oral evidence. They of course would require prior notice and any fees as allowed/agreed by the Court or the instructing party.

We choose our experts after rigorous checks. As a minimum, the experts on our panel are:

• Consultant Psychiatrists
• Section 12 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (2007) approved
• Members of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
• On the GMC specialist register

No, the experts are part of our panel are not employed by Nationwide Experts services. They are not salaried by us.

• We believe simplicity is the key.
• We just expect a brief email about the case and requirements.
• Our response time is 4 hours.
• Each enquiry is screened by our in-house expert (one of our best advantages).
• We then provide expert’s credentials and a free fee quote.
• Once fee and timelines are agreed, our expert will assess the client (always face to face), and after conducting a review of the available documents and history, will prepare a high-quality report.
• We monitor each step and ensure timely assessment of the client and report delivery.

Yes, thanks to the diverse nature of our network we have many psychiatrists who speak additional languages and also have experience and understanding of foreign cultures. Many of our experts are multilingual. We first try to match the preferred language of the client to the language skills of the expert. If required, an interpreter can be sought. All our psychiatrists are also experienced in conducting assessments via an interpreter.

We target a response time of 4 hours after a request is received for the initial contact. We aim to send you details of a recommended expert and a free competitive quote within 24 hours.

Fees vary according to the type and complexity of the assessment that is required. All forms of sources of funding is accepted. Much of the Expert Witness work that our psychiatrists undertake is publicly funded through Legal Aid Agency LAA. Please contact us and we will provide an estimate of fees based on the details of your case. Our quotations provide a breakdown of the hours required for each part of the assessment, with the relevant hourly rate.

In our experience an expert takes between 4-6 weeks to prepare a report. However, reports can be prepared within timescales of 1 week if required.

Nationwide Experts has a wide variety of experts from different functional areas. We also provide fast turnaround time and our experts provide us with preferred rates, as advantage which we transfer to our instructing clients. We have dedicated case managers who provide excellent customer service.

If you have the desired qualifications and experience, you are welcome to join our panel of experts. Please email us: info@nationwide-expert.net We also provide mentoring and training to new consultants for improving their report writing skills.