TULA MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE EXPERTS LIMITED

For the Preparation Of Medico-Legal Reports for Tula Medical Negligence Experts Limited

The following terms and conditions govern the provision of medico-legal reports by the medical professional completing the medico-legal report (the “Expert”) to Tula Medical Negligence Experts Limited (the “The Company”) Limited from time to time upon request.

Appointments
1.1. Expert will make all appointment bookings with the claimant directly, if required on receipt of the instructions from the Company.
1.2. Expert will provide notification in writing of the appointment to the Company within 24 hours of booking the appointment attaching copies of the original instruction and any other relevant information supplied by the instructing party.
1.3. The Company will manage all cancellations and contact all relevant parties.
1.4. Expert will attempt to obtain confirmation of attendance from the claimant either in writ- ing or verbally by telephone.
1.5. Any D.N.A/cancellations will be notified by the Expert to the Company within 24 hours of such event.
1.6. The Company agrees to take reasonable steps to recover ‘Did Not Attend’ (“DNA”) from claimants via the instructing solicitor or insurer.

Medical Records
2.1 An instruction is an offer from the Company to purchase the services from the Expert. This offer can be accepted either by explicit written acceptance or beginning the provision of services.
2.2 The Company will use best efforts to collect, collate and paginate the relevant medical rec- ords. All medical records and notes (or copies) will be sent to the Expert. All expenses in- curred in procuring medical records will be received and payable by the Company.
2.3 The Company agrees to treat these terms and conditions, all technical and commercial know-how of the Company and all correspondence, medical records and other documenta- tion (Shared Personal Data) in respect of instructions received from the Company as confidential and shall not use or disclose the same to any third party save as necessary for the Expert to carry out the rele vant examination and prepare the appropriate report. The Expert undertakes to comply in all respects with the UK General Data Protection Regulation, Data Protection Act 2018 and any other relevant data protection legislation (The Legislation) and to indemnify the Company against any loss, damage, costs or expenses incurred or suffered by the Company as a result of the Expert’s breach thereof.
2.4 The Expert will not commission X-rays or any test other than without prior consent from the appointment co-ordinator at the Company. Failure to obtain such authority will result in non-payment of the test fees, which will remain the liability of the Expert.

Medical Reports
3.1 The Expert will make best efforts and where practical within 7 days of an instruction from the Company accept or reject the instructions and confirm their decision to the Company.
3.2 The Expert will prepare and send their report to the Company within 8-10 weeks of receiving full instructions and medical records, or as otherwise agreed in writing.
3.3 Expert will perform the Services with reasonable care and skill and in accord- ance with generally recognized commercial practices and standards in the industry for similar services.
3.4 All reports will reach the minimum levels of quality by the Company and from time to time and the requirements of the Access to Justice and any other relevant legislation. Measurable quality parameters include:
a) Correct names and addresses are used.
b) Correct case facts are used e.g. appropriate dates.
c) Sufficient details of the case are given.
d) Correct medication is prescribed.
e) Correct spelling and grammar.
f) A prognosis is made including future effects and time limits. This should be included even if the comment is “it is not possible to make a prognosis”
g) The statement of truth (attached) is signed and attached between the last page of the report and the signature.
3.5 Reports that do not meet the minimum quality criteria will be corrected by the Expert at no additional cost and returned to the Company within 5 working days of notification that the report is not acceptable.
3.6 All medical reports and additional relevant information will be sent directly to the Company. If requested by the Solicitor Client, the Company will organize a conference between the Ex- pert and Solicitor Client. In other instances the Expert not correspond directly with the in- structing party and it is the Expert’s responsibility to inform The Company if such contact is made either from the instructing or 3rd party.
3.7 The Expert agrees to carry out all clinical examinations in accordance with the Standards of Practice laid down by the GMC in its core statement of Good Medical Practice and agrees to follow the GMC’s specific guidelines on good practice where appropriate.
3.8 The Expert’s fee for examination and preparation of the medical report shall be agreed, in- cluding as relevant:
a) Desk Top Screening Report;
b) Causation Report;
c) Addendum/response to questions; and
d) Case conference.
These rates can be hourly or fixed rates as set out in the Experts fees and payment terms.
3.9 All report rates will not exceed those stated above unless authorized by the Company.
3.10 No charge may be made for factual amendments to medical reports following the claimant’s initial review.
3.11 The Company may agree to an increase in the Expert’s fee, if fixed in respect of particularly complicated cases provided that the Expert shall have provided the Company with a quote in writing for approval prior to commencing any work in connection with supplying the medical report.
3.12 The Expert shall meet, and time is of the essence as to, any performance dates agreed with the Company for the production of any deliverables. Any delays or other difficulties in meet- ing deadlines with reasonable explanation shall be notified to the Company as soon as possi- ble.
3.13 The Company will not be responsible for any separate charges relating to Room Hire, Secre- tarial or Administrative charges.

Payment
4.1 The Expert shall be responsible for providing their fees and payment terms to the Company, and any further revisions to be provided in writing.

4.2 The Expert’s fees will be due and payable as set out in the Experts fees and payment terms provided to the Company.
4.3 All charges quoted to the Company shall be exclusive of VAT, which the Expert shall add to its invoices at the appropriate rate if applicable.
4.4 Where services are provided on a time basis Expert shall ensure that they complete time sheets recording time spent on the Services, and the Expert shall use such time sheets to cal- culate the charges.
4.5 The Company shall make payment of each invoice on terms set out in the Experts payment terms to a bank account nominated in writing by the Expert or’ by cheque

General
5.1 These terms and conditions constitute the entire understanding of the Expert and the Com- pany in respect of the matters contained or referred to herein.
5.2 The Expert’s relationship with the Company shall be that of an independent contractor with the status of self-employed person and the Expert shall be responsible for all
income tax liabilities and National Insurance or similar contributions in respect of his fee and the Expert hereby indemnifies the Company in respect of any claims that may be made by the relevant authorities against the Company in respect of income tax or National Insurance or other contributions relating to the services provided by the Expert to the Company.
5.3 In order to provide services to The Company the Expert must register with The Company on an annual basis.
5.4 The Expert confirms they are medically qualified and licensed to practice and provide profes- sional services as contracted. The Expert must inform the Company of any change of circum- stances that may affect the Expert’s credibility as a Medical Expert. This includes being inves- tigated for malpractice or any criminal investigations.
5.5 The Expert agrees to indemnify the Company against all and any liability, loss, damage and expenses of whatever nature incurred or suffered by the Company as a result of any claim by any third party however arising out of the Expert’s negligence or out of the performance or the failure to perform any services undertaken by the Expert for the Company .
5.6 During the term of this agreement and for a period of six years thereafter, the Expert shall maintain in force, with a reputable insurance company, professional indemnity insurance in an amount not less than £1 million and shall, on the Company’s request, produce both the insurance certificate giving details of cover and the receipt for the current year’s premium.
5.7 The Company reserves the right from time to time on notice to the Expert to substitute new terms and conditions and/or to impose conditions upon its requests for the provision of ser- vices by the Expert.
5.8 These terms and conditions apply exclusively to the Expert and the Expert may not assign or sub-contract any of its rights or obligations pursuant of them.

Data Protection

6.1 The Expert undertakes to comply in all respects with the UK General Data Protection Regulation, Data Protection Act 2018 and any other relevant data protection legislation (The Legislation) and to indemnify the Company against any loss, damage, costs or expenses incurred or suffered by the Company as a result of the Expert’s breach thereof.
6.2 The Expert agrees that they are a Controller under the Legislation and shall ensure that they have in place appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect against the unauthorised or unlawful processing of, and against the accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, the Shared Personal Data, having regard to the state of technological development and the cost of implementing any such measures.
6.3 When putting appropriate technical and organisational measures in place, both Parties shall ensure a level of security appropriate to the nature of the Shared Personal Data which is to be protected, and to the potential harm resulting from the unauthorised or unlawful processing of, the accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, the Shared Personal Data.

6.4 In the event of a personal data breach, the Expert shall comply with its obligations to report such a breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office and, if applicable, to the affected data subjects in accordance with Article 33 of the UK GDPR. Furthermore, the Expert shall inform the Company of any such breach without undue delay, irrespective of whether it is required to be reported to the Information Commissioner or to data subjects.

Dated: 26 May 2021