Cases - Ollett v Bristol Aerojet Ltd

Record details

Name

Ollett v Bristol Aerojet Ltd

Date

[1979]

Citation

2 AII ER 544, QBD

Keywords

Expert witness

Summary

In regretting an order by a registrar which did not require the substance of the respective experts' reports to be disclosed in a personal injury case, the judge made some observations on the ability of the expert witness to give opinion evidence:

'An expert, unlike other witnesses, is allowed, because of his special qualifications and/or experience, to give opinion evidence. It is for his opinion evidence that he is called, not for a factual description of the machine or the circumstances of the accident, although that is often necessary in order to explain and/or justify his conclusions. When the substance of the expert's report is to be provided, that means precisely what it says, both the substance of the factual description of the machine and/or the circumstances of the accident and his expert opinion in relation to that accident, which is the very justification for calling him.'