The Rules of the Supreme Court (Northern Ireland) (Amendment No. 2) 2009

Amendments to the Rules of the Supreme Court (Northern Ireland) 1980

5.  In Order 38 of the principal Rules—

(a) in rule 1A(1), for the words “any medical report or other accompanying or supplemental document served or disclosed pursuant to the provisions of Order 25”, substitute “any report or other accompanying or supplemental document served or disclosed pursuant to the provisions of Order 25 or of rule 3B of this Order”;

(b) in rule 1A(2), omit the word “medical”; and

(c) after rule 3A, insert—

“Disclosure of evidence in clinical negligence actions

3B.— (1) For the purposes of this rule—

(a) “clinical negligence” means negligence in connection with the diagnosis of any illness, or the care or treatment of any patient, in consequence of any act or omission to act by a person employed or engaged for such purposes; and

(b) “medical evidence” means—

(i) the evidence contained in any medical report or other accompanying or supplemental document emanating from the maker of the report which is intended by him to accompany or supplement such report and includes surgical and radiological evidence and any ancillary expert or technical evidence; and

(ii) any other evidence of a medical, surgical or radiological nature which a party proposes to adduce at the trial by means of oral testimony.

(2) In actions grounded on an allegation of clinical negligence—

(a) where the plaintiff proposes to adduce at the trial evidence (other than medical evidence) obtained from any expert for the purpose of assisting the Court in assessing damages, he shall—

(i) insofar as he then has in his possession or power that evidence, disclose it to the other party or parties not later than 10 weeks from the close of the pleadings or such other period as the Court may direct; and

(ii) insofar as he thereafter obtains any such evidence before the date of the trial, disclose it to the other party or parties within 21 days of receiving it and in any case before the first day of the trial; and

(b) where the defendant or any other party proposes to adduce at the trial evidence (other than medical evidence) obtained from any expert for the purpose of assisting the Court in assessing damages, he shall—

(i) insofar as he then has in his possession or power that evidence, disclose it to the plaintiff and any other party or parties not later than 20 weeks from the close of the pleadings or such other period as the Court may direct; and

(ii) insofar as he thereafter obtains any such evidence before the date of trial, disclose it to the plaintiff and any other party or parties within 21 days of receiving it and in any case before the first day of the trial.”.