The Irish Medical Council guidelines warn doctors that they are not to be advocates for the patient when writing medical legal reports. However, it can be a sensitive matter if the person writing the medical legal report is the claimant's general practitioner. The GP knows the family history, everything that has happened to the claimant, how the accident has affected him or her and the person's history before the accident. There is some conflict in that regard because the general practitioner will want to do their utmost to try to help the patient recover from his or her injuries while at the same time having to judge the severity of the injuries and their impact for a medical legal report.