Can Defendants Rely On Life Expectancy Expert Evidence Following Dodds?

The question of whether a Defendant can rely on expert evidence on life expectancy in a high value personal injury claim has been considered by the Courts in recent judgments. On 8 November 2019, the High Court considered this question in Russell v Davies.

The Claimant pursued a claim for personal injuries following a road traffic accident on 6 May 2015 in which he suffered a severe head injury. The Defendant applied for permission to adduce expert evidence on life expectancy from a physician, albeit the report was based on statistics, contending that a number of factors affected the Claimant's life expectancy and that the expert evidence was reasonably required to resolve the proceedings. The Claimant opposed the application, asserting that the expert evidence of the medical experts dealt with the questions of life expectancy and that a combination of their expert evidence and the Ogden Tables was sufficient to enable the Court to resolve the claim without further