Medicolegal Services

Mental Capacity Assessment and Clinical Neuropsychology

A mental capacity assessment is used to determine an individual’s ability to make decisions for themselves. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 came into place in October 2007. This act is aimed at protecting those who have lost the capacity to make decisions for themselves and also help those who are at imminent risk of losing capacity in the future , to enable long term arrangements.

The Act was brought in to protect those who have lost the capacity to make decisions for themselves and also to help those who may lose capacity in the future to make arrangements. The loss of mental health capacity can be partial or complete, temporary or permanent.People can lose mental capacity in some areas, but not in others. Mental capacity can fluctuate over time.For all these reasons it is vitally important to obtain a thorough assessment with a clinical expert who has experience in Mental Capacity Assessment.

There is a two stage test to the Mental Capacity Act 2005

• An assessment of whether the person has an impairment or disturbance in their functioning. This may be caused by conditions associated with mental illness, concussion or symptoms of drug / alcohol use.
• An assessment of whether the impairment means the person is unable to make a specific decision when they need to.

The Mental Capacity Act can be used by the Court of Protection, which is similar in many ways to the High Court, but uses the principles of the Act when making decisions.

The Court of Protection may be used for

• Determining difficult treatment decisions
• Determining whether an individual has capacity to make particular decisions
• Settling disputes over the treatment of a person who is deemed to lack capacity
• Cases involving the care and treatment of individuals under 18 years of age

Our team of Consultant  Psychiatrists and Psychologists are experts in Mental Capacity assessment and  are recognised expert witnesses in the field.

Personal Injury

People need medico-legal reports for a number of reasons. We at Cloud Medical specialise in understanding the need for the report and ensure that the consultation and report are focused on providing information and opinion relevant to the case. The ability to produce these complex reports in easy format calls for diverse skills which is reflected in our team who have range of expertise.

Cases are used to compensate the victim of the incident, rather than deliver punishment. Personal Injury claims fall under Civil law and commonly result from

• car accidents
• trips and falls
• medical malpractice
• Workplace accidents

Obtaining a medicolegal report from a relevant Physician (Neurologist, Neurophysiologists, Rehabilitation Medicine ), Physiotherapist, Psychiatrist, Expert Biomechanists, Psychologist or Psychotherapist can support the claimant’s case and help determine the level of compensation due.

Compensation plays a restorative role, whereby it can help the victim to feel they have been dealt with fairly. Moreover, and importantly compensation will play a vital role to fund care and enable getting back on track.

We are able to offer expert witness reports and also prognostication reports. Please get in touch with us to find out more about our medico legal services.