Terms and conditions
1. Who we are
eMedico-Legal is a trading name of Speciality Exam Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 10229917. Our registered office is 27 Plas Y Coed, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 4FL, United Kingdom. You can contact us at enquiries@emedico-legal.com. In these terms, "we", "us" and "our" mean Speciality Exam Limited, and "you" means the person or organisation using our website or services.
2. Our services
We provide independent medical opinion, including expert reports for courts, coroners and tribunals, confidential advisory reviews of medical records, advice for healthcare professionals and providers, teaching, and mediation and arbitration of healthcare disputes.
We provide medical opinion only. We are not a firm of solicitors, we do not give legal advice, we do not carry out reserved legal activities, and we do not handle, manage or bring claims on anyone's behalf. We do not pay or receive referral fees or commission for introducing work to or from solicitors or any other person. Decisions about whether to bring, defend or settle a claim remain with you and your legal advisers.
3. Information on this website
The content of this website, including our articles, is general information only. It is not medical, legal or other professional advice about your circumstances, and it does not create a doctor and patient relationship. Using the website or sending us an enquiry does not create a contract or a professional relationship.
We do not provide clinical care or emergency advice. If you need urgent medical help, contact your doctor or the emergency services (999 in the UK, 112 or 999 in Ireland, or your local emergency number).
4. How we accept work
Before accepting any work we carry out a conflict of interest check. We may decline any enquiry or instruction without giving a reason. A contract is formed only when we have confirmed in writing the scope of the work, the fees and the timescale (a letter of engagement or acceptance of instructions) and you have accepted it. If anything in that letter differs from these terms, the letter applies.
5. Independence and the expert's duty
When we act as an expert witness, our overriding duty is to the court or tribunal, not to the party instructing or paying us, in line with Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules in England and Wales and equivalent rules elsewhere. Our opinion is based on the evidence and may not support the case of the party instructing us. Fees are never conditional on the content of our opinion or the outcome of a case.
A confidential advisory review is medical opinion provided privately to the client. It is not a report for court. If we carry out an advisory review for you, we will not later act as the independent court expert in the same matter.
6. Your responsibilities
You agree to give us accurate information and the complete records relevant to the work, and to tell us promptly of any deadlines, including court and limitation dates. If you send us the medical records or personal information of another person, you confirm that you have their consent or other lawful authority to do so. Please send medical records only through the secure method we provide, not by ordinary email.
7. Fees and payment
Our fees are set out in the letter of engagement. Unless agreed otherwise, invoices are payable within 30 days. For business clients, we may charge interest and compensation on late payments under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. Fees for answering written questions, joint discussions, meetings and attendance at court or hearings are charged as set out in the letter of engagement.
8. Your right to cancel (individual clients)
If you are an individual using our services for purposes outside your trade or profession and the contract is made at a distance, you have the right to cancel within 14 days of the contract being formed, without giving a reason, under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. To cancel, email us with a clear statement of your decision. If you ask us to start work within the cancellation period, you must pay for the work done up to the time you tell us that you are cancelling, and you lose the right to cancel once the work has been fully performed.
9. Confidentiality and data protection
We keep your information confidential, except where disclosure is required by law, by a court or regulator, or as part of our duty to the court. We handle personal data, including health data, in line with UK data protection law and the EU General Data Protection Regulation where it applies. Please read our privacy notice.
10. Our reports and materials
Reports and other documents we prepare are for use by the client in the matter for which they were provided. They may not be published or used for another purpose without our written consent, except as required by law or by a court. We keep the copyright in our reports and in the content of this website.
11. Our liability
We will provide our services with reasonable care and skill. Nothing in these terms limits or excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law. Subject to that, our total liability arising from any engagement is limited to the fees paid for that engagement, and we are not liable for any loss of profit, loss of opportunity or indirect loss, or for decisions you or your advisers make on the basis of our opinion. If you are an individual client, this does not affect your statutory rights.
12. Complaints
If you are unhappy with our service, please email us with the details. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days and aim to give you a full response within 20 working days.
13. Law and jurisdiction
These terms and any contract with us are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you are an individual client living elsewhere in the UK or in Ireland, you may also bring proceedings in the courts where you live, and you keep the protection of the mandatory consumer laws of your country. Where we act in an arbitration or mediation, the rules agreed for that process also apply.
14. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms from time to time. The version that applies to your engagement is the one in force on the date of your letter of engagement.