Expert Witness Directory
Start with the British Medical Expert Directory
Some cases start with a clinical discipline, others with a location, a claim or a report. Follow the route that matches the instruction in front of you.
Browse specialties
Explore all 520 disciplines, arranged in six clinical groups.
View specialties → 02Browse by Medico-Legal Experience
See the medical disciplines commonly relevant to the type of claim.
View claim types → 03Search by location
Explore coverage across the UK and Ireland, alongside assessment options.
View locations →Specialties
Medical expert witness specialties, in six clinical groups
Every discipline on the register sits in one of six groups. Psychiatry, dentistry and neurology are listed like any other specialty.
Mental health
Psychiatry, psychology, neuropsychology and neuropsychiatry. The disciplines instructed on capacity, psychiatric injury and fitness to plead.
Surgery
Orthopaedic, spinal, trauma and plastic surgery, through to neurosurgery, ENT, maxillofacial surgery and dentistry.
Medicine
Cardiology, neurology, oncology, respiratory and pain medicine, alongside the general physician specialties.
Primary and acute care
General practice, emergency medicine, obstetrics, paediatrics, anaesthetics, intensive care and nursing.
Therapies and rehabilitation
Occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, and rehabilitation medicine, where care needs are assessed.
Diagnostics and laboratory
Radiology, haematology and microbiology, where the evidence is read from imaging, samples and laboratory records.
Four ways in
How the register is organised
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Claim types
Start from the claim on your desk, from clinical negligence to asbestos disease, and see which disciplines it instructs.
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Report types
What each report answers, from screening to quantum, and when a single joint expert applies.
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Locations
Coverage across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the differences between the three legal systems stated plainly.
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Guides
Short guides to Part 35 reports and expert procedure, written for instructing solicitors.
The discipline your claim turns on, listed
Questions answered
Frequently asked questions
What should an initial enquiry include?
A brief case summary, the procedural route and stage, the questions the expert is to answer, and any court deadline - enough for the practitioner to confirm suitability and availability in the first reply. Records and formal instructions follow once the expert is chosen.
Do listed experts accept instructions from both claimant and defendant solicitors?
Yes - listed practitioners are independent, and the expert's duty to the court is identical whichever side instructs. Sole-party and single joint expert instructions alike are agreed with the practitioner.
Can barristers and chambers instruct directly?
Yes - instructions are accepted from solicitors, barristers and chambers alike, on the same basis.
Can I compare several experts before instructing?
Yes - shortlist up to six practitioners and send one enquiry covering all of them. Each replies to you directly, so availability and fit are weighed side by side rather than one phone call at a time.