Although generally immune from suit in the United Kingdom,
experts can still be sanctioned by the court in the form of costs
orders. UK Courts in the recent case of Robinson v
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Trust and Mercier [2023]
EWHC 21 (KB) however have shown that they err towards
protecting experts from being sued, even in the absence of expert
witness immunity.
The case confirms an ongoing trend towards protecting expert
witnesses from suit in common law countries, and may pave the way
for standards of expert witness liability should Australian courts
decide to follow the UK in abolishing expert witness immunity.
Abolition of Expert Witness Immunity in UK Courts
UK courts abolished expert witness immunity in Jones v
Kaney [2011] UKSC 13. The case concerned a claim in negligence
brought by the applicant, a victim of car accident, against his
expert witness. The consultant psychiatrist expert witness had
mistakenly signed a joint statement with another
