Medico-legal reports

Our medico-legal report writing

Our speech and language therapists provide a specialised service of medico-legal report writing. We can provide medico-legal reports on any area of eating and drinking for adults. Our medico-legal reports will be provided by our specialist speech and language therapists to suit the specific needs and requirements of the client and the report.

Why would an individual need a speech and language therapy medico-legal report?

Speech and language therapy medico-legal reports may be required for the following reasons:

Medical negligence

For example, a head injury resulting in eating and drinking problems. In this situation our speech and language therapists will cost the price of the treatment the individual will need, when claiming for compensation.

Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST)

In this situation a young adult’s communication difficulties may affect their ability to access their education, meaning extra specialist support is being sought.

An assessment to determine whether an eating and drinking problem exists or not.

What will a speech and language therapy medico-legal report involve?

A speech and language therapy medico-legal report will involve the following:

• A review of the individual’s medical notes and other relevant documents.
• Information on the individual’s past, present and future communication, eating and drinking ability.
• The individual’s potential for improvement.
• A detailed assessment to determine whether an individual has an eating and drinking difficulty, and how severe their difficulty is.
• A comprehensive and detailed report on the individual’s assessment findings, their diagnosis and also the prognosis of the individual’s difficulty. The medico-legal report will also include any recommendations for further treatment, and the cost of this treatment.
• Whether any specialist equipment is required e.g. eating and drinking aids.
• Total and annual costs of equipment.

How much does a speech and language medico-legal report cost?

Our medico-legal report writing service is charged on an hourly basis. We will provide a quotation in writing for the initial assessment and the report following an initial enquiry. A breakdown of the quotation will include a document review, assessment, travel and preparation costs of the report. The cost of a medico-legal report will vary for each client and will depend on the location of the client and also the time requirements of the assessment and report.

Joint expert meetings, further reports and attendance in court will be billed at an hourly rate.

How to instruct our speech and language therapists

Instruction can be written or emailed to our speech and language therapists. Please provide the following information within the written or emailed instruction document:

• The capacity of the appointment.
• Advise party / parties responsible for paying the fees.
• The reason for the report.
• Any issues to be addressed.
• Time limit of the report to be completed by.
• Relevant medical records including GP and hospital notes.
• Witness statements.
• Expert reports (with future reports to follow).
• Schedule of loss.
• Particulars of claim and defence.
• Relevant court orders.
• Any other relevant background information.

How long will the report take?

An initial assessment will generally be undertaken within two weeks of the instruction. Reports are generally provided within four weeks of the initial assessment.

If you feel you may benefit from speech and language therapy or would like any more information on our services please email office@slt.co.uk or call 0330 088 5643.