Background

The claimant was a protected party who was involved in an RTA in which he sustained serious injuries. The claim was settled at a joint settlement meeting and subsequently approved by the court.  Detailed assessment proceedings were commenced, and the bill of costs was served but medical expert fees were disputed. 

The Issues

The disputed fees related to evidence that was obtained from a medical agency. The claimant’s agency refused to breakdown their fees to show how much of their fee the expert had received. The defendant argued that without a breakdown, the bill of costs was non-compliant and should be struck out. The issue was whether the receiving party should be obliged to break down the expert fee notes to show the percentage of the fee being taken by the agency.

Held

Costs Judge Rowley concluded that it was up to the claimant to choose one of the following two options as to how the fees are to be assessed:

1. If a breakdown of the cost of the expert’s evidence and the medical agency’s work was provided, then the costs would be assessed on that basis; or

2. If no breakdown was provided, then the costs would be assessed on the basis that there has been no medical agency involvement and the fees claimed were solely for the expert evidence.

Comment

Medical agencies may be unwilling to provide a breakdown of fees and this could result in the solicitors who instruct them becoming ultimately responsible for any shortfall in experts fees, which could quickly eat into their profit costs. Claimant solicitors should check their medical agency contracts to ensure that they can obtain a breakdown if needed.

See a copy of the judgment here:

https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Costs/2025/69.html

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