Expert Witness Journal Issue 66 April 2026 - Flipbook - Page 94
Trust2, while the judge found that the Claimant’s
evidence had been “unconvincing and unreliable”3,
she had not been fundamentally dishonest as she
had genuinely believed in the truth of her evidence.
A similar assertion was made in Tosh v Gupta4,
where the judge found that the Claimant was an
“honest person” despite the fact that they were also,
in the words of the judge, an “unreliable historian”5
when recalling the events at the heart of the claim.
Both of these claims ultimately failed on the issues
of liability, but the Claimants walked away with
judgments a昀케rming that they had been honest
throughout the litigation.
Conclusion
Bringing a public claim involves many signi昀椀cant
risks. Claimants must ensure their case is watertight,
that their account and in particular that of their
witnesses are credible and truthful and that they
know where any weaknesses lie. Otherwise, they
may 昀椀nd the future consequences are more severe
than simply being hit in the pocket.
References
The impact of credibility on damages
In the event that the litigation is successful in spite
of poor witness evidence, the credibility of the
witness, or lack thereof, can signi昀椀cantly impact the
damages the Court decides to award. In Wright v
McCormack6, the Claimant’s award of damages was
reduced to nominal damages on the basis that the
Claimant had originally given deliberately false
evidence exaggerating the seriousness of harm
caused.
1
[2025] EWHC 2043 (KB)
2
[2021] EWHC 290 (QB)
3
Ibid, [9]
4
[2025] EWHC 2025 (KB)
5
[2025] EWHC 2025 (KB) [27]
6
[2023] EWCA Civ 892
Key lessons
To avoid similar pitfalls, Claimants and their legal
teams must carefully interrogate their own case, and
indeed the witnesses they intend to put on the stand,
before stepping into court to assess any potential
danger areas or lacunas. This includes:
Wellbeing Independent
Social Work (WISOR)
Mental Capacity and Independent
Social Work intervention and reports
Challenging the credibility of their own evidence
Legal teams must rigorously examine the Claimant’s
account and assess consistency across the various
witness statements if there are multiple witnesses.
Witnesses must be prepared to withstand scrutiny
and questioning, especially in high-pro昀椀le cases,
without seeming overly defensive or evasive.
BSC (Hons) Social Work, BIA, AMHP, Practice Education
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Comprehensive document review
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Before 昀椀ling a claim, the Claimant should consider
whether the litigation itself might, in fact, amplify
reputational harm (the Streisand E昀昀ect) and
whether the potential bene昀椀ts are worth the risks.
In some cases, a trial can give further visibility to the
allegations and ultimately will be seen by many as
validating many of the claims against him regardless
of the result.
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APRIL 2026
