Here at Speech Matters Speech Therapy we do a great deal of medicolegal work. So what exactly is medicolegal speech and language therapy and what do we provide?
ASLTIP describes medicolegal work here – see below.
What do medicolegal Speech and Language Therapists do?
They specialise in carrying out and reporting on Legal Assessments including:
- SENDIST/SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) Tribunals
- Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
- Medical negligence resulting in speech, language or swallowing difficulties (such as birth injury affecting a child’s development), or trauma (such as a road traffic accident resulting in head injury and communication problems) – cases where the aim is to determine costs for therapy when seeking compensation.
- Personal injury
- Determining the ability of a client with speech and language difficulties to be a
witness in court in addition to extensive clinical experience, medico-legal trained Speech and Language therapists have attended relevant legal training on: - Excellence in Report Writing
- Cross-Examination Day
What does this look like?
- Review of medical notes and other important documents.
- Assessment and diagnosis of the client’s speech and language skills (and possibly
other areas in some instances such as swallowing difficulties) to determine whether
a problem exists and, if it does, how severe it is. - Writing a detailed report of findings, diagnosis, prognosis and recommendations for
further therapy. - In SENDIST cases there is a need for very specific recommendations quantifying the
amount of ongoing therapy considered necessary. - Appearance at Tribunal/Court as an expert witness if applicable.
Speech and language therapists may be involved with other professionals when they are doing medico-legal work depending on the situation. These may include a psychologist, medical staff, an occupational therapist, education staff, a solicitor, etc.
What happens?
- An initial assessment will be arranged.
- A detailed report will be submitted.
- Attendance in court may be requested.
- Further therapy input will need to be sourced separately.
Questions to ask a therapist when requesting Medico-Legal work:
1. What are your specialist credentials in the area of medico-legal work?
a. What training have you received?
b. How many cases have you been involved with?
c. Can I see an anonymised report?
2. What is your clinical experience of the person’s needs you are asking for?
a. E.g. Autism/dysphasia
b. Children/adults
3. What is your availability?
a. Discuss your timescale for the report
b. Discuss when /where you require the assessment to be carried out?
c. Discuss if you want your therapist to liaise with other professionals
4. What is the fee?
a. Terms of Engagement should be provided to you
b. The fee structure should be clearly set out detailing tasks and timings.
Each case will be different, it is important to discuss specific details which are relevant, so you are confident with the fee, the process and the therapist you have chosen.
What do Speech Matters Speech Therapy provide?
Here at Speech Matters Speech Therapy we provide Speech and Language Therapy input to medicolegal cases largely involving medical negligence or injury and following road traffic collisions as the treating therapists. If you are a case manager and you would like to discuss a potential case with us, please do not hesitate to contact us here.
