Expert Witnesses under Fire?

Abstract

The decision late last year in Meadow v General Medical Council [2006] EWCA Civ 1390 to allow an expert witness to face disciplinary sanctions arising from misleading evidence given by him in court has led some to predict a decline in the willingness of experts to appear in the witness box. This is especially in the wake of Phillips v Symes [2004] EWHC 2330 where an expert witness was made subject to a third party costs order following criticisms of his evidence by the trial judge. But do these cases show anything more than the risks associated with doing an abysmal job?