Jo-Anne Peters v South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust [2016]

At the substantive hearing, the respondent made a successful adjournment application based on late production of a psychiatric report by the claimant. It was received a mere 3 days before hearing which was due to last for two weeks.

The adjournment was granted to allow the respondent to instruct its own psychiatrist but costs against the claimant and a wasted costs order against the representative were also sought. There was a conflict of evidence between the claimant and her representative, but the respondent was effectively oblivious as to the psychiatric evidence being relied on. As well as this, the claimant accepted that a number of drafts of the psychiatric report were passed back and