Vascular Surgery Expert of the Year 8 LAWYER MONTHLY EXPERT WITNESS AWARDS 2025 Prof. Charles McCollum Co-Founder McCollum Consultants www.McCollumConsultants.com UNITED KINGDOM For over 30 years, Professor Charles McCollum has been a leading figure in the world of medico-legal expertise. A distinguished vascular surgeon and academic, his introduction to legal medicine began with a pivotal case involving consent, innovation, and professional responsibility—setting the stage for a career dedicated to truth, independence, and high standards in clinical assessment. Since then, Professor McCollum has advised on thousands of cases, established two major expert witness organisations, and helped shape how the courts understand complex claims of clinical negligence. In this in-depth reflection, he shares key milestones, shifting litigation trends, and the urgent need to use legal insight as a tool to raise standards and protect patients across the NHS. My first step into medico-legal work came in 1989, when I was invited by now Lord Daniel Brennan KC to offer a second opinion on a clinical negligence case. The claim involved an internationally respected vascular surgeon accused of performing a ‘research procedure’ without informed consent. Although the initial expert concluded that the claimant had been seriously harmed by a rare vein ligation, I noted that academic surgeons at the time often tested new techniques in their pursuit of medical advancement. After offering my opinion, I was surprised to hear another expert suggest my role was simply to help the case reach court. Concerned, I contacted the instructing solicitor, who reassured me— what was needed was an honest, independent assessment, regardless of the case’s merit. That moment clarified my purpose and encouraged me to pursue medico-legal work more fully, eventually building a fulfilling and intellectually stimulating practice. Over the next ten years, my early caseload was dominated by personal injury claims, many involving complications such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). As I gained experience, the work increasingly shifted towards clinical negligence, where the stakes—and complexity—were far higher. I learned that while Professor Charles McCollum: Three Decades at the Intersection of Medicine and Law
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