When a slip accident leads to civil litigation, the quality of the floor evidence often determines liability. We provide independent forensic testing and expert witness services to claimants, defendants, insurers and panel solicitors across the UK, with reports written from the outset to comply with the Civil Procedure Rules.
Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules governs expert evidence in UK civil proceedings. Our reports comply with Part 35 from the outset, including:
Detailed treatment in our CPR Part 35 guide.
Where possible we attend the accident location and reproduce the conditions described by the claimant — the contaminant, the cleaning regime, the lighting, the footwear. UKAS-accredited pendulum testing is carried out across the relevant area, supported by surface roughness and photographic records.
Where the original surface has been removed, we work from photographs, retained samples, disclosure documents and (where authorised) statements from witnesses present at the time. The report is explicit about what is direct measurement versus what is reasoned reconstruction.
Independence cuts both ways. Where we are instructed by a claimant and the test data does not support the claim, the report says so. Where we are instructed by a defendant and the floor is non-compliant with the relevant specification, the report says so. The duty under CPR 35 is to the court, not the instructing party — and over time this is what makes a report defensible under cross-examination.
For lower-value or single-issue claims, the parties may agree to instruct a single joint expert under CPR 35.7. We accept joint instructions on this basis, with the methodology and reporting agreed between the parties' solicitors before testing.
Where each party has appointed their own expert, CPR 35.12 provides for an experts' discussion to identify points of agreement and disagreement, followed by a joint statement. We have substantial experience of this process, including written joint statements, joint expert meetings (in person or remote), and managing the inevitable robust technical exchange professionally.
Where matters proceed to trial, the expert may be required to give oral evidence and undergo cross-examination. The strength of the report on the page is the foundation; the strength of the expert in the witness box matters too. Our experts are routinely cross-examined and the methodology and reasoning are designed to withstand it.
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