Jones v Kaney
Expert witnesses can be sued in negligence by the clients who retain them, abolishing their immunity.
Facts
Mr Jones was injured in a road accident and claimed damages, including for post traumatic stress disorder. His solicitors instructed Dr Kaney, a clinical psychologist, as an expert witness, and she reported that he suffered from PTSD. After a discussion with the defendant's expert, she signed a joint statement that was very damaging to Mr Jones's case, saying that she had been deceptive about his symptoms and that he did not have PTSD. She later said that the joint statement did not reflect her views. Mr Jones settled his claim for much less than he would otherwise have received, and sued Dr Kaney for negligence. She claimed immunity as a witness.
Legal principle
The Supreme Court held, by a majority of five to two, that expert witnesses are not immune from claims in negligence by their own clients for the evidence they give. Lord Phillips said that the justification for the immunity, that it encouraged experts to give honest evidence, was not supported by evidence, and that following the abolition of advocates' immunity in Arthur J S Hall v Simons, there was no good reason for retaining expert witness immunity. Experts owe a duty to the court that overrides their duty to the client, but this does not require them to be immune from liability for carelessness.
Related cases on judiciary, legal profession and access to justice
- Airey v Ireland (1979) 2 EHRR 305
- Arthur J S Hall & Co v Simons [2002] 1 AC 615
- Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd v Dring [2019] UKSC 38, [2020] AC 629
- Helow v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2008] UKHL 62, [2008] 1 WLR 2416
- Lawal v Northern Spirit Ltd [2003] UKHL 35, [2004] 1 All ER 187
- Locabail (UK) Ltd v Bayfield Properties Ltd [2000] QB 451
- Medcalf v Mardell [2002] UKHL 27, [2003] 1 AC 120
- R (Gudanaviciene) v Director of Legal Aid Casework [2014] EWCA Civ 1622, [2015] 1 WLR 2247
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