{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,24]],"date-time":"2026-10-24T17:38:47Z","timestamp":1792863527463,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,22]],"date-time":"2026-10-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1792627200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Med Leg J"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Healthcare professionals often serve as expert witnesses in coroners\u2019 courts and have to provide reports, but the specific requirements have not been clearly articulated. The Chief Coroner\u2019s Bench Book advises that expert reports should follow Civil Procedure Rules Part 35, yet the inquisitorial nature of coronial proceedings creates important differences from civil litigation. In keeping with the Coroners and Justice Act, experts must avoid language that implies civil or criminal liability on the part of a named person when opining on standards of care; instead, they should express themselves in neutral terms. Unlike civil litigation, where a \u2018but for\u2019 test applies to proving causation, on balance of probabilities, the coronial threshold requires identification of the acts or omissions that contributed more than minimally, negligibly or trivially to death. Understanding these distinctions is essential to produce reports that are appropriate both in law and in purpose.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/00258172261469711","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,22]],"date-time":"2026-10-22T07:17:49Z","timestamp":1792653469000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Expert witness evidence in the coroner\u2019s court: Distinctions from civil litigation"],"prefix":"10.1177","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7785-9732","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abeezar I","family":"Sarela","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paul","family":"Marks","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"HM Senior Coroner for The East Riding of Yorkshire and the City of Kingston-upon-Hull, Hull, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","unstructured":"General Medical Council. Providing witness statements or expert evidence as part of legal proceedings https:\/\/www.gmc-uk.org\/professional-standards\/the-professional-standards\/providing-witness-statements-or-expert-evidence-as-part-of-legal-proceedings\/providing-witness-statements-or-expert-evidence-as-part-of-legal-proceedings (2024 accessed 22 January 2026)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","unstructured":"Chief Coroner. Chief Coroner\u2019s guidance for coroners on the bench https:\/\/www.judiciary.uk\/guidance-and-resources\/chief-coroners-guidance-for-coroners-on-the-bench\/ (2025 accessed 22 January 2026)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","unstructured":"R v HM Coroner for North Humberside and Scunthorpe Ex p Jamieson [1995] QB 1 [1994] 3 All ER 972 (CA)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","unstructured":"R (on the application of Middleton) v HM Coroner for Western Somerset [2004] UKHL 10 [2004] 2 AC 182."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","unstructured":"R (on the application of Smith) (FC) (Respondent) v Secretary of State for Defence (Appellant) and another [2010] UKSC 29."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_2","unstructured":"R (on the application of Maughan) v HM Senior Coroner for Oxfordshire [2020] UKSC 46 [2021] AC 454."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_2","unstructured":"Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee [1957] 1 WLR 582 (QB)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","unstructured":"McCulloch and others v Forth Valley Health Board [2023] UKSC 26 [2023] 3 WLR 321."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","unstructured":"Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015] UKSC 11 [2015] AC 1430."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_2","unstructured":"Bolitho v City and Hackney Health Authority [1998] AC 232 (HL)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_12_2","unstructured":"Chief Coroner. Chief Coroner\u2019s Guidance No.17 Conclusions: short-form and narrative https:\/\/www.judiciary.uk\/guidance-and-resources\/chief-coroners-guidance-no-17-conclusions-short-form-and-narrative\/ (2021 accessed 22 January 2026)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_13_2","first-page":"584","article-title":"Coronial law and practice: a human rights perspective","volume":"21","author":"Freckelton I","year":"2014","unstructured":"Freckelton I, McGregor S. Coronial law and practice: a human rights perspective. J Law Med 2014; 21: 584\u2013601.","journal-title":"J Law Med"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1365712718813781"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_15_2","unstructured":"Gregg v Scott [2005] UKHL 2 [2005] 2 AC 176."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_16_2","first-page":"433","article-title":"Choosing what we mean by causation in the law","volume":"73","author":"Stapleton J.","year":"2008","unstructured":"Stapleton J. Choosing what we mean by causation in the law. Mo L Rev 2008; 73: 433\u2013480.","journal-title":"Mo L Rev"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1515\/jtl-2023-0030"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_18_2","first-page":"407","article-title":"Fulfilling their purpose: inquests, Article 2 and next of kin","volume":"3","author":"McIntosh S.","year":"2012","unstructured":"McIntosh S. Fulfilling their purpose: inquests, Article 2 and next of kin. 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