The Birmingham Medico-Legal Society Annual Dinner

On Friday 10 September, I had the pleasure of attending the Birmingham Medico-Legal Society (‘BMLS’) annual dinner with my colleague, Saira Walji, at the Edgbaston Golf Club. We were grateful to be invited as guests of St Philips Chambers, whom we regularly instruct.

BMLS was founded in May 1987 and the aim of the society is to encourage co-operation between the professions of medicine and law. This relationship is pivotal to Personal Injury and Medical Negligence claims, as solicitors frequently instruct medical experts who have specialist knowledge of the area relevant to a client’s case. The evidence provided by the expert is essential in establishing causation (have the injuries sustained arisen as a result of the incident in question) and quantum (the value of the claim).  

The event included a drinks reception, which gave us the chance to meet other lawyers as well as doctors and consultants. Saira and I were fortunate to meet Mr Richard Cherry, who is a former President of the society, as well as a founding member! We had an interesting conversation about the relationship that lawyers and doctors have established over many years.

Following dinner, we had the pleasure of listening to a talk from Dr Richard Taylor, a leading Forensic Psychiatrist. Dr Taylor discussed his book ‘The Mind of a Murderer’ which examines why people commit crimes from the perspective of a psychiatrist, which provides important observations in respect of what drives criminality.

To end the evening, everybody had the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets, which raised money for charity.

Saira and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and networking with many fantastic solicitors, barristers and doctors. We would like to thank St Philips Chambers for the invitation and the Birmingham Medico-Legal Society for putting together a wonderful event in the current difficult climate.