Services Offered
PROFESSIONAL APPROACH
Even though Dr. Buist is not a barrister, he operates by the cab-rank rule. He takes any case that is offered to him that is within his area of expertise and he deals with them in the order in which he has received them. While requests for opinions by potential plaintiffs dominates his medicolegal practice, he also provides opinions to defence teams and indemnity insurers. He provides opinions for the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC). He believes the NSW HCCC to be the Australian equivalent of the UK Care Quality Commission.
Dr. Buist understands that medical litigation is:
- Time consuming
- Expensive
- Very stressful
He also knows that, sadly, adverse outcomes and even tragedies may occur in maternity care even when the clinical care provided has been of an appropriate standard.
For these reasons Dr. Buist offers a verbal preliminary opinion about any case that is sent to him. This involves him reading the material provided by the client’s solicitors, including a letter of instructions, the clinical notes, and any other reports that have been written. He will also review the relevant scientific literature and professional body clinical guidelines and be able to refer to them.
He then reviews that material (this can be accomplished within two weeks of him receiving the material) and schedules a telephone call (or Zoom or Microsoft Teams session) with the client’s legal team to discuss the case.
Counsel may then decide to:
- Instruct Dr. Buist to provide them with a formal written report
- Obtain an expert opinion from another obstetrician (particularly if the view of, an, ahem, non-colonial obstetrician is desirable)
- Not pursue the case
The cost of this service is usually five to six hours of Dr. Buist’s time, depending upon the volume of material involved.
Dr. Buist’s formal reports comply with the Code of Conduct for Expert Witnesses in the relevant jurisdiction and they also comply with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Guidelines for College Members Providing Expert Opinion (July 2000).
His reports contain the following:
- His credentials
- A summary of his instructions and the legal test he has been asked to apply
- A detailed description of the clinical history and events in question
- His opinion, which will be supported by the relevant scientific literature and professional body clinical guidelines
- Commentary on the opinions of any other experts that have been provided
- The answers to any questions posed in his Letters of Instructions
- The relevant declarations required of an Expert Witness
- The references upon which he has based his opinion
- His Curriculum Vitae
A typical medicolegal report is 20 to 25 pages long and includes, usually, between ten and fifteen references.
Given that Dr. Buist is in active clinical practice, and not a full time ‘expert,’ a report is usually provided within four to six weeks of him being so instructed. A report takes (and is billed at) between 30 and 40 hours of his time.
Obviously from time to time it is necessary to write a supplementary report. This is usually in response to opinions provided by other experts regarding the matter concerned.
Dr. Buist is familiar with the format of meetings of experts. He is comfortable attending them via Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
Dr. Buist has appeared in Court as an expert in both New Zealand and Australia. He is familiar with Civil Procedure Rules 35, the Practice Direction which goes with it and the Guidance for Instruction of Experts.
He can personally appear in Court in the United Kingdom.
Request a Service
BEGIN THE PROCESS
To discuss how Dr. Buist can assist with your case or to request any of the services described above, please get in touch using the contact form or direct contact details below.
