Essentially, the medical consultation is subverted into an evidence trawling exercise. Often injury symptoms frequently persist until the compensation case is settled. Subsequently the symptoms are rarely mentioned again except in the case of the most serious injury. The medical charts of countless patients have shown this. Personal injury cases are also having an impact on referral practice.
Solicitors frequently request specialist assessment when no such referral is clinically indicated.
A further negative impact on the referral process has become apparent in recent years. Some specialist colleagues now express reluctance to become involved in a case, which may have medico-legal connotations. This is unfortunate since it denies the patient an expertise which could be of benefit. GPs cannot exercise such discretion. The Medical Council Guidelines clearly state that a doctor must comply with a request from a solicitor to supply a medico-legal report on a patient under their care.