[Dr Travis Gee]

(05-Aug-2015, 08:35 PM)Meridian Wrote: Is there any way to get a second opinion before the courts when the family report seems to have bias?

For any serious medical condition I wouldn't think twice about getting a 2nd or 3rd opinion, but are you limited to 1 with the family report?

Any other options other than just critisizing it at the trial?

It would seem to make sense to get another experts opinion before the Judge.

Thanks

You are correct, a second opinion before the judge cannot be a bad thing, provided it is done right.  Thanks to the admin who posted one aspect of the problem with my article on interviewing kids. He raises good points with which I agree.  There is the possibility that an adversarial critique could be commissioned and submitted as an affidavit, but judges' latitude to exclude it could mean it doesn't get up in that form. 

If you are represented by a solicitor and/or barrister,they can take the key points from the critique and challenge the report writer on the stand with some hard questions. If you are unrepresented and commission such a report, then make sure the critique writer puts things in language that is clear to the layperson, so that you can do what a legal representative would do in the event of the critique being tossed by the judge. 

However you get it in, it is best to have someone with credentials equal to or greater than the family report writer provide input, because there may very well be questions raised that will not occur to the self-represented litigant or even the solicitor or barrister.

There are also ethical issues around the adversarial critique. In particular, if you have a friend or family member who is qualified to comment, ask them for a referral to a colleague. Ethical questions can be raised about what amounts to conflict of interest, termed "avoidable multiple roles," that can get them in trouble professionally, not to mention potentially sabotaging your case in the eyes of the judge.

Regards,

Travis.