In a recent London employment tribunal decision, an NHS staff member has been ordered to pay £18,000 in legal costs to University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust after it was found he had significantly altered a key piece of evidence, a medical report, using content likely generated by artificial intelligence.
Mr Murly-Cleve’s was initially pursuing a claim of disability discrimination, Public Interest Disclosure and unlawful deduction from wages. Murly-Cleves withdrew his entire claim which he’d valued at around £1 million, in November 2024 when the tribunal ordered a more detailed probe of his evidence. The worker argued that his further involvement in the case would go against medical advice he’d received. This led the NHS trust to apply for costs on the grounds that the worker had behaved unreasonably by altering a key piece of evidence. The Respondent argued that the real reason for Murly-Cleves withdrawing his claim was “to avoid the revelation of wider dishonesty.”
Employment Judge Abbott ruled that large parts of a report on the Claimant’s medical condition came from himself rather than his doctor. The judge noted different spellings of “characterized” and “characterised” within the text, suggesting more than one author was at play. The report also suggested that issues in the workplace caused Murly-Cleves’ complex post-traumatic stress disorder, which was contrary to his doctor’s earlier letters, the ruling on Sept. 8 says.
The judge also referred to “forms of phraseology that … cannot have originated” from his doctor, deciding “on the balance of probabilities” that the Claimant had added AI-generated text into the document. “The incoherent formatting and paragraph numbering of the report … gives it the appearance of a Frankenstein-like document, with different sections deriving from different sources,” the judge added.
Judge Abbott concluded Murly-Cleves’ reason to withdraw the claim “was a false one,” adding that the true reason was likely that he “knew that more detailed probing would reveal, sooner or later, that the [medical] report had been written to a significant extent by [Murly-Cleves] himself.”
The judge also noted a “high degree of fault” belonged to Murly-Cleves’ doctor who penned the medico-legal expert report, pointing out that he should not have allowed the Claimant to influence its contents. The Tribunal ly held that the Claimant was primarily responsible, deciding that a payment of £18,000 to the NHS trust was appropriate. Read the full decision at EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS.
Here in Northern Ireland, costs orders awarded by an Industrial Tribunal or Fair Employment Tribunal have a statutory cap of £10,000. A Tribunal may make a costs order where a party (or that party’s representative) has acted vexatiously, abusively, disruptively or otherwise unreasonably in either the bringing of the proceedings or the way that they have been conducted; or all or part of any claim or response to the claim had no reasonable prospect of success.
Worthingtons are one of few employment law practices in Northern Ireland to have successfully obtained a Tribunal Costs Order against an opposing party for the maximum amount of £10,000.
Despite the jurisdictional differences in the level of costs which may be awarded, this decision provides some important considerations for employers and employees when contemplating the use of AI. The key takeaways are:
- Save for any appropriate corrections approved by the expert or legal representatives, parties must not change or inappropriately influence the content of medico-legal or expert reports.
- The increasing use of AI, particularly in legal proceedings, comes with material risks. Generating or editing evidence using AI risks may undermine the integrity of the evidence or the party to proceedings.
- While costs remain the exception rather than the rule in employment tribunals, dishonest or unreasonable conduct may lead to significant cost awards.
Whether you’re an employer facing a tribunal claim or an employee seeking to understand your rights, our specialist employment solicitors are here to help. Chloe Perkins is currently an Apprentice Solicitor in our Employment Department, having worked as a Legal Executive in the department for a number of years prior to commencement of her apprenticeship. Chloe can be contacted on 028 9043 4015 or [email protected]
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