Description
Solicitors who delegated the task of obtaining medical reports to medical agencies did not absolve themselves of the responsibility to assist the court to ascertain whether the costs incurred were reasonable and proportionate.
In conjoined appeals the claimants been involved in road traffic accidents leading to claims for damages with values between £1,000 and £10,000. The solicitors employed a medical agency to obtain the medical reports and the costs of the reports included the fees of the agency.
The defendants submitted that the court could not determine a reasonable and proportionate cost for the medical report in the absence of disclosure of a breakdown between the medical expert's fee and the fee charged by the medical agency for the report.
It was held that solicitors who delegated the task of obtaining medical reports to medical agencies did not absolve themselves of the responsibility to assist the court in the task of ascertaining whether the costs incurred were reasonable and proportionate. Invoices of medical agencies should distinguish between the medical fee and their own charges.
In relation to fairly straightforward low value claims where medical records were not required, and where there was a ready panel of specialists available, and where standard letters could be used, and having regard to the use of a standard process for high-volume work, the court assessed the cost of a reasonably experienced and competent medical agency to carry out the work to obtain the medical report at £50 plus VAT.
