A retired professor has been suspended for misleading the legal aid authorities over the amount of time he spent compiling an expert witness report for a court case.
Stewart Goodwin, a former professor of microbiology, has been found guilty of dishonesty and had his registration suspended for 12 months by the GMC.
In 2006, Goodwin provided an expert medico legal report for a firm of solicitors and invoiced them for five hours work at £350 an hour - an unacceptable rate for the Legal Services Commission (LSC), which is publicly funded.
Two months later, Goodwin re-issued the invoice with a reduced hourly rate of £200 an hour, which he knew would be more acceptable to LSC, but listing an increase in the number of hours worked (now 8.5 hours).
This followed an exchange of correspondence, in 2005, with a firm of solicitors who had requested that he act as an expert witness. Goodwin indicated an intention to mislead the LSC in order to obtain financial advantage.
He also expressed a willingness to provide a false estimate of the numbers of hours likely to be worked in the preparation of a medico legal report in order to obtain an enhanced fee.
The GMC panel concluded that the conduct was dishonest, misleading and likely to bring the profession into disrepute.
Despite Goodwin being fully retired, with no intention of performing medico legal work or practising in the future, the panel suspended his registration for 12 months.
The panel concluded that “this period would be sufficient to send out a signal to you, the public and the profession that such conduct is unacceptable, whilst upholding public confidence in the profession. It would also allow you time to reflect on your behaviour.”
In reaching its decision, the Panel said it had “borne in mind the principles contained within the GMC’s publication Good Medical Practice…in particular, paragraph 54, under the heading of Probity: You must be honest in financial and commercial dealings with employers, insurers and other organisations or individuals.”
Tags: expert witness, fitness to practise, GMC
