Finding The Needle In The Electronic Haystack...

All Trusts, general practitioners and their respective defence organisations should be aware that, in relation to multi-track proceedings which have commenced since 1 October 2010, there is now the obligation to provide disclosure of electronic documents ("e-disclosure").

The obligation is wide ranging and incorporates any document held in electronic form – including emails, voicemails, text messages, word processed documents and databases, documents on memory sticks or other portable storage devices, documents stored on servers and back up systems, deleted documents, and meta-data and other embedded data. The precise nature and number of documents will vary according to the specific facts of the case and may, in many circumstances, be limited to the clinical records – but that will not always be the case.