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PI Brief Update

Expert Statistical Evidence on Life Expectancy: Cooper v McGann - Tom Gibson, Pupil Barrister, Outer Temple Chambers

17/04/12. Should expert statistical evidence on life expectancy be allowed – in addition to expert clinical evidence – in high-value personal injury claims?  The recent Queen’s Bench Masters case of Cooper v McGann (24 February 2012, Master Kay QC) highlights the difficulties that parties face in gaining permission to rely on such evidence.  

The claimant’s life expectancy is often a critical issue in high-value personal injury cases, where a few extra years may add hundreds of thousands of pounds to the value of the claim.  If the clinical experts disagree on the claimant’s life expectancy, then may a party call separate expert statistical evidence to attack the other side’s opinion?  The recent Queen’s Bench Masters case of Cooper v McGann (24 February 2012, Master Kay QC) highlights the difficulties that parties face in gaining permission to rely on such evidence...

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The opinions expressed in the articles are the authors' own, not those of Law Brief Publishing Ltd, and are not necessarily commensurate with general legal or medico-legal expert consensus of opinion and/or literature. Any medical content is not exhaustive but at a level for the non-medical reader to understand. 

Professional advice should always be obtained before applying any information to particular circumstances.

Excerpts from judgments and statutes are Crown copyright. Any Crown Copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of OPSI and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland under the Open Government Licence.