Instruct a Victorian medico-legal expert and review the draft report
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- Turn the lawyer's issues list into a letter of instruction that draws attention to the applicable Victorian expert code and the court's AI practice note, and table the draft report's assumptions, materials, reasoning and any AI statement. Do not rewrite the opinion.
- What the lawyer must review
- Settle the issues and the questions. The letter the expert receives is checked in full.
- Draw attention to the applicable expert code and the court's AI practice note.
- On the draft report, do not rewrite the opinion. Keep records in a firm-controlled tool.
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Victoria: a letter of instruction to a medico-legal expert, and a check of the draft report
Produce. A letter of instruction from the lawyer's issues list, and a table of the draft report, for the lawyer to settle.
Have ready. Lawyer's issues and questions; Materials the expert may see; The court or Panel; Draft report, when it arrives.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The lawyer's list has four questions. The tool puts those questions into a letter that names the County Court code and the 9 June 2026 practice note. The lawyer reads the letter before it is sent. When the draft arrives, the tool tables an assumption that was not in the letter and leaves the opinion unchanged.
Stop and hand it back when
- The letter would add an issue the lawyer has not settled.
- Health records would be placed in a public tool.
- The check would rewrite the opinion.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Turn the lawyer's issues list into a letter of instruction that draws attention to the applicable Victorian expert code and the court's AI practice note, and table the draft report's assumptions, materials, reasoning and any AI statement. Do not rewrite the opinion. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Use only the issues and questions the lawyer has settled. Name the court or the Panel.
- Draw attention to the code that applies. Supreme Court Form 44A is under the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2025. County Court Form 44A is under the County Court Civil Procedure Rules 2018. The form text was not opened.
- Ask the expert to comply with the court's AI practice note. SC GEN 25 paragraph 6.12 and County Court paragraph 5.12 require particular caution. Verification is meaningful human control. One tool cannot confirm another.
- On the draft, table assumptions, materials, reasoning and any AI statement against the letter. A Medical Panel referral is a separate step. The Panel's answer is not rewritten.
Forms and precedents for this task
| Form or precedent | Kind | AI use | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter of instruction to an orthopaedic surgeon | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking an orthopaedic surgeon for diagnosis, causation, capacity and prognosis in a plaintiff claim, with the expert code and artificial intelligence rule for Victoria, Queensland or New South Wales. |
| Letter of instruction to a psychiatrist | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a psychiatrist for diagnosis, causation, treatment and capacity in a plaintiff claim, and for a clinical view on recognised psychiatric illness, without asking for the legal test. |
| TAC serious injury application form (Common Law Protocols 2026): completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Guide to the TAC form lawyers use to request a serious injury certificate under Part 6 of the Transport Accident Act 1986 and the Common Law Protocols 2026, including the section 93(17) limbs and the signed authority. |
| Letter of instruction to an occupational therapist on care | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking an occupational therapist to record care hours, duration, paid and gratuitous help, aids and equipment, without applying a damages threshold or valuing the claim. |
| Letter of instruction to a forensic accountant | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a forensic accountant to calculate past and future loss of earning capacity on stated assumptions, with the discount rate, percentage and superannuation rate left for the lawyer. |
| Letter of instruction to an engineer | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking an engineer for the condition, the mechanism and the available precautions in a plaintiff claim, with the precautions section named by the lawyer and no conclusion on negligence. |
| Psychiatrist's instructions on a recognised psychiatric illness | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a psychiatrist whether there is a recognised psychiatric illness for a mental harm claim, without asking the psychiatrist to apply the statutory tests. |
| Letter of instruction to a vocational assessor | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a vocational assessor for realistic occupations, hours and sourced earnings, without a diagnosis, an impairment score or a valuation. |
| Questions for a treating doctor | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a treating doctor for the dates, recorded diagnosis, treatment and certificates, with a separate opinion section that is sent only if the expert code is enclosed. |
| Agenda for a conference of experts | Letter | AI use Yellow | Note to experts after a direction to confer, setting the arrangements and the issues, and stating the joint-report rule in Victoria, Queensland or New South Wales. |
| Letter of instruction to an actuary on future loss | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking an actuary to value future earnings and future treatment streams on the lawyer's assumptions, with the rate, percentage and life table left blank. |
| Supplementary questions after an expert report | Letter | AI use Yellow | Short letter sending further documents and asking whether the expert's opinion on a material matter has changed, with the supplementary-report duty for each state. |
| WorkSafe Form A, application for common law damages: completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Guide to WorkSafe Form A for an application under section 328 of the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 or section 134AB(4) of the Accident Compensation Act 1985. |
| WorkSafe Form D, authority to release medical information: completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to WorkSafe Form D, the signed authority and consent to release medical information that accompanies a common law damages application. |
| Magistrates' Court WorkCover referral to a Medical Panel: completion guide | Form | AI use Red | Link to the Magistrates' Court form parties or their practitioners complete and submit with an application to refer a WorkCover matter to a Medical Panel. |
| County Court notice of intention to refer a medical question to a Medical Panel: guide | Form | AI use Red | Guide to the County Court notice of intention to refer a medical question to a Medical Panel in a serious injury application for a work injury, from the Common Law Division Practice Note of 9 February 2026. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.
Sources
- Supreme Court of Victoria Practice Note SC GEN 25 · 2026-10-23
- County Court of Victoria: Use of Artificial Intelligence by Court Users practice note (9 June 2026) · 2026-10-23
- Magistrates' Court of Victoria: Guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence by Court users (19 October 2026) · 2026-10-23
- Medical Panels Victoria · 2026-10-23
Keep health, wage and scheme records in a firm-controlled tool. ASCR r 9 and APP 11 apply. A breach may be notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
If the product supports a court document, apply the note for that court: Supreme Court Practice Note SC GEN 25 (14 May 2026), the County Court practice note on artificial intelligence by court users (9 June 2026), or the Magistrates' Court guidelines issued 19 October 2026. One tool cannot verify another. Do not put confidential or sensitive information into a public tool.
The letter is a document the expert receives, so the lawyer checks every letter. Nothing in the letter is filed by the tool.