About RMLS Part 35 Reports

Dr Dane Aaron Rowley, via Rowley Medico-Legal Services Ltd (RMLS), provides independent expert neuropsychological evidence to the Court in casesof adult traumatic brain injury and clinical negligence involving neurological insult or illness, across the UK. 


Dr Rowley’s reports are prepared under Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules. His overriding duty is to the Court, not to the party instructing him, and the opinion given is the same regardless of who is instructing. Dr Rowley accepts instructions from claimant and defendant solicitors and on a joint basis. He undertakes approximately 24 reports per year; approximately 70% of his instructions are from claimant solicitors and 30% from defendant solicitors. 


RMLS is the sister company of Rowley Clinical Neuropsychology Services (RCNS), a treatment practice of around 30 clinical psychologists and neuropsychologists delivering neurorehabilitation across the north of England. The two companies are operated separately, and we do not accept instruction as both treating clinician and expert witness in the same matter. His continuing clinical leadership of the treatment practice informs and strengthens the quality of his expert work, and vice versa. 

Questions addressed

 Dr Rowley's assessments routinely address each of the questions below. 

Whether a brain injury occurred and how severe it was, making use of behavioural markers, neuroimaging findings, and the course of recovery through acute and post-acute care, in comparison to validated and recognised systems of severity such as those published by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM), and the Mayo Classification System. 

The cognitive, emotional and behavioural consequences of the injury, and a reasoned opinion on what is driving each of them. 

Whether a mental health presentation is present alongside the brain injury (for example psychological trauma, low mood or anxiety), whether it is attributable to the index event, and how it interacts with the neuropsychological picture.

How a claimant was functioning before the injury, and how that impacts the presentation now. Dr Rowley estimates pre-injury intellectual ability using validated methods, examines the pre-injury GP and other records, and takes a careful educational, occupational, health and psychosocial history to inform the picture. 

The expected course of recovery, what is likely to be permanent, and the factors that would improve or worsen the outlook. Where the prognosis is uncertain, qualified opinion is provided along with comment on what further evidence would support a final opinion being reached. 

How the injury has changed what the claimant can do day to day: self-care, running a home, managing money, driving, parenting, relationships and the activities that gave their life meaning before the injury. The pre-injury and current pictures are compared using the claimant's account, the collateral history, the records and the test results, so that theopinion is grounded in the evidence. 

Whether the claimant will be capable of returning to their previous work or studies, in what capacity and with what adjustments, and if not, what they could realistically do instead. This takes into account the cognitive demands of those roles, the cognitive test profile and the post-injury course, and provides an opinion on likely future employment capacity and the need for support in the workplace or in education.

Whether the claimant needs help from others because of the cognitive, behavioural or emotional consequences of the injury, and what form that help should take: prompting and supervision, support with planning and decision-making, or more hands on care. Opinion is confined to those needs arising from the brain injury as opposed to those arising from physical injury or other causes, so that the care expert and the Court can see what the neuropsychological evidence does and does not support. 

What treatment is indicated, in what form, over what period and at what cost, with a view to the whole neurorehabilitation package rather than neuropsychology in isolation. Comment is also offered on the appropriateness and effectiveness of any neurorehabilitation already provided.

Formal assessment of capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, commonly including capacity to conduct the litigation, to manage property and financial affairs, to make a will, and other decisions as instructed.

The Process

Method of assessment

A complete review of the records. Dr Rowley reads all records disclosed personally: GP records, ambulance records, acute hospital records by trust, rehabilitation and therapy records, and any other experts' reports and witness statements. The records are set out chronologically in an appendix to the report, so that the Courtcan follow the claimant's progress from the scene of the injury through acute and post-acute care, and can see the material each opinion rests on. 


A detailed clinical interview. Dr Rowley takes a full account from the claimant of their life before the injury, the injury itself, and their recovery since: cognition, mood, behaviour, pain, fatigue, sleep, relationships, work and daily living. Wherever possible he also interviews a family member or someone who knew the claimant well before the injury.


Comprehensive neuropsychological testing. Dr Rowley usesa full battery of standardised tests appropriate to the injury and the questions asked, covering crystallised abilities, visuospatial skills, episodic and working memory, processing speed, language, fluid reasoning and executive function, together with standardised measures of mood and post-traumatic symptoms. Performance and symptom validity measures are administered and reported as standard in every assessment. 


A neuropsychological formulation, not a list of findings.The records, the history, the test results and the collateral account are brought together into a single account of what has happened to the claimant and its implications. The opinion follows from that formulation. 


Assessments are conducted in person. Dr Rowley is based in West Yorkshire and his usual clinic is in Leeds city centre. He is able to travel across the UK. Where appropriate, assessments can be arranged at the claimant's home or at a suitable clinic near them. 

The report

A draft report is normally delivered within two weeks of the assessment. 


Reports are written in plain language, avoiding unnecessary jargon, with the aim of making complex neuropsychological issues accessible to the Court. 


Reports comply with Part 35, its Practice Direction and the Guidance for the Instruction of Experts in Civil Claims and carry the required statement of truth and declaration. 


Reports open with a summary of opinion, structured around the questions in the letter of instruction, so that the conclusions can be identified readily and the schedule of loss costed from them. The body of the report sets out the evidence on which the opinion is based and issues pertinent to the opinion in detail. 


Where Dr Rowley disagrees with another expert, he says so and explains why. Where the evidence does not permit a confident view, this is stated. 

After the report

Following the report, Dr Rowley provides:

  • Part 35 questions, answered within the rules and the agreed timescale
  • Amendments following disclosure of further records, witness evidence or other      experts' reports
  • Conferences with counsel, in person or remotely
  • Joint statements with the opposing neuropsychologist, prepared with the aim of narrowing the issues for the Court
  • Attendance at trial where required

Instructing Dr Rowley

Dr Rowley accepts instructions from claimant solicitors, defendant solicitors and insurers, and on a joint basis, in personal injury and clinical negligence claims involving adult traumatic brain injury. He takes instructions from across the UK. 


To instruct Dr Rowley, or to discuss a case beforehand, please send a short outline of the claim and the questions likely to be asked. He will confirm whether the case falls within his expertise, whether he has capacity to take it on, when the report can be delivered, and the approximate fee.


A letter of instruction, the records disclosed to date and any existing expert evidence can follow.

Fees are quoted in advance and are exclusive of VAT. Terms of business and a full CV are available on request.


Enquiries may be made to Dr Rowley directly. He can be reached at contact@rmls.co.uk or on 07553 728 470