Medico-legal work is one of the cleanest “authority-to-cash” bridges for doctors: you monetise clinical reasoning, documentation, and defensible opinion writing. You do not need to be a professor. You need to be credible in your scope, disciplined with process, and compliant with court rules.
What is an Expert Witness (in practice)?
An expert witness provides independent opinion evidence to assist the court — not to advocate for either party. Your report must include the required statements and reflect your duty to the court (CPR Part 35 / Practice Direction 35).
Reality check on pricing: fixed-fee vs hourly
Whiplash/soft tissue reports in the MedCo system are fixed-fee (commonly £180 for the first report).
Beyond fixed-fee streams, hourly charging is normal for case review + report writing. Public guidance for clinical negligence experts in legal aid contexts cites rates around £180–£200/hr for certain specialties as a “starting point”. Industry surveys report average report-writing rates in the low-£200s/hr range.
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