At Therapy Hive we have Speech and Language therapists that are specialists in providing high-quality speech and language therapy medico-legal and expert witness reports for legal proceedings for children and adults with communication difficulties.
We specialise in carrying out and reporting on Legal Assessments including:
- SENDIST/SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) Tribunals
- Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) reports
We also complete the following reports through Somek & Associates.
(contact them directly for our availability)
- Medical negligence resulting in speech, language or swallowing difficulties (such as birth injury affecting a child’s development), or trauma (such as a road traffic accident resulting in head injury and communication problems) – cases where the aim is to determine costs for therapy when seeking compensation.
- Personal injury
- Liability cases
What does this process look like?
Medico-legal reports are specially drafted for the individual client. The expert witness will work methodically through a number of stages, including;
- Reviewing all of the information provided on the client and the case (i.e. past medical history, clinical notes, accident reports and other important documents).
- Assessment of the client’s speech, language and swallowing to determine whether a problem exists and, if it does, how severe it is.
- Assessing how the speech, language, and swallowing condition/s may affect the individual’s life.
- Assessing where relevant, whether recovery is possible – including how long this will take and the extent of the likely recovery.
- Writing a detailed report of findings, diagnosis, prognosis and recommendations for ongoing care, treatment, and education. This will take into careful consideration the instructions for the case, the dispute and any specific questions that require answering.
- Consideration of if any specialist equipment or devices are required – e.g. assistive technology including communication aids.
- Where relevant, an assessment of quantum (the value of the claim) – in relation to the likely cost of any care, treatment, and specialist equipment required.
- Appearance at Tribunal/Court as an expert witness if applicable.
The recommendations made in an SLT expert medical report will depend on the purpose of the document. If written to justify additional education support, for example, it may focus on the challenges the individual will face while learning, and how this can be overcome.
Speech and language therapists may be involved with and liaise with other professionals when they are doing medico-legal work depending on the situation. These may include psychologists, medical staff, occupational therapists, education staff, solicitors, etc.
If you would like any more information regarding our medico-legal work please email enquiries@therapyhive.co.uk or click contact us.