Rank: Forum user 
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Dear Colleagues
I have been asked to provide an expert witness report for a client, which is something i have not undertaken before, unfortunately this has to be in within 28 days and the only reputable training i have found in this is with Bond Solon and thats not until September after the time limit.
i would appreciate any help anyone may be able to offer re the format /layout of an expert witness report.
Many thanks
Mark Elliott CMIOSH
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Rank: Super forum user 
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My advice is don't do it if you are not 101% happy that you are confident, especially if you may have to justify your opinion in Court later.
I have appeared in Court as an Expert Witness (not my definition you understand, as on both occasions I was due there as a witness but was 'promoted' the Judge or prosecution).
It is an absolutely horrendous experience and I'd rather eat a bucket of earwax than go through it again!
The whole aim of the defence legal team is to discredit you - personally and professionally- in a way not possible to 'standard' witnesses. On both of my occasions, the continued chipping away of my character & competence was relentless and went on for well over an hour before any questions were asked about the actual case in hand.
So tread carefully, and if you are self employed (I wasn't!) charge plenty of ca$h !
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Rank: Forum user
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Mark, Messy is absolutely right, if the case does get to court then you can expect your character, both personal and professional, to be absolutely assassinated. For example whatever you have on facebook will be used against you. Carry out a google search on yourself and see what comes up.
Any report you produce will have to be meticulous, even minor spelling mistakes will be ridiculed. Whatever you put in your report must be accurate, you must be able to reference everything, your report must not contain anything but fact, you cannot express any opinions beyond your remit. You can only give your professional opinion within the boundaries you have been given and you must be able to support your opinion. Your duty is to the court and not to those engaging you. The person engaging you should give you a full brief. You should be familiar with the court protocols such as CPR 35.
Remember that most cases won't get to court, they are often settled on the steps of the court.
I do have some information on expert witnesses, if you email me I can send you some useful material.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Mark, I would entitle all reports as 'draft' until you are happy with what you have written, our Finance Director advised me of this, apparently it has some legal connitations. Is it possible to run the final 'draft' past your company lawyer before it is submitted?
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Mark,
I recently acted as an "Expert Witness" for my organisation in a "Trial of Issue" at the Crown Court regarding a fatality.
The Prosecution called their own experts, including specialist HSE Inspectors & as previously recalled, their Barrister had me on the stand for over an hour, continually backtracking to see if I would change my opinion, & yes, calling into question my professional competence - the experience left me physically & mentally drained.
Your client's solicitors will be able to let you have a copy of how the written evidence should be presented & I also had my original reports marked as "draft" - but if I am perfectly honest, I did not realise the significance of this until the Prosecution quizzed me on it & why certain information was "missing" - my response was that it was still in draft form & therefore not yet complete!
Going on a course is all well & good, but it cannot replicate the pressure that you will be under & you MUST know your subject from A-Z, if you don't, then decline to take part.
As a quick aside, our QC made a big deal of me being a member of IOSH!
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Mark, I think that you have been asked to do something that needs very careful consideration. If you are employed then maybe your employer needs a rethink; if self-employed then please pay very close attention to the above posts! I don't believe it is possible to undergo training and all the practice that is needed within the very short timeframe available, without the end result being at best unsatisfactory and at worst you being completely shredded in court by a professional shredder in a curly wig.
I have watched in court the process of discrediting an expert witness and it is not only expertly done but also had the effect of making me think the witness was a complete buffoon, which they surely were not.
To use a military phrase: R.L.F.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Bond Solon have written a helpful book "The expert witness in court", (pub. Shaw & Sons) which has lots of helpful info and, I presume, covers much of the training course.
One thing you need to be very aware of is that the prime duty of any Expert Witness is to the court, rather than the party who pays them. You need to read and fully take on board the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) Part 35 - it's easy to find via Google.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Mark - you are aware of the subject matter of what's required in the 'expert witness' statement - so if you know your stuff and you are confident - there has to be a first time for everything.
Take note of the above advice? I have not been in court to have the 1st hand experience what our colleagues above have but I have been on the Bond Solon Expert Witness Training Course and torn to shreds is a vast understatement of what the Barrister did to us during role play and this is light years away from the actual thing - I imagine.
True - most of us on the course were dealing with a role play scenario outside our day-to-day role but I learnt enough to understand this is unique skill to have and requires a level coaching.
The Barrister destroyed us at ease? They are experts and this is their job?
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Rank: Guest
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Mark
If I had read the observations posted above rather than attend training at the Academy of Experts, I would have found service as an expert witness a much more difficult experience than it was.
As, I've found that barristers can be more aggressive on paper than in person, it's essential to remember that, in offering your opinion to the court (i.e. the panel of judges), you ground what you say on verifiable evidence rather than your beliefs or values. Where it's relevant and you know the details of relevant laws and regs, you can illustrate your opinion with an example of your experience,
Just like Counsel for both sides, you are free to refer to documents rather than overload your memory.
Subject to these two observation
1. As Ian Waldram said, familiarise yourself thoroughly with the Civil Procedure Rules, even by saying 'I don't know because....'
2. Know what you are talking about
serving as an expert witness can be a great opportunity to learn. If you are cross-examined publicly, you may well find that you notice aspects of a court report that you couldn't right now.
In my experience, even though you may not perfrom perfectly (as I haven't), delivery expert testimony can also be encouraging: in the formal court report of a case where I was cross-examined, I was surprised to read how complimentary the panel of judges were about me: 'Mr. D's expertise was self-evident. Where we had to choose between him and Ms. X, we chose his opinion....'
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Rank: Super forum user
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Whilst taking into account the excellent advice offered by others, including "..there has to be a first time for everything", we mustn't lose sight of the actual situation that Mark finds himself in, i.e. not being able to access a course until after the deadline, & no experience in how the Statement should be drafted - it's not his fault, it just happens to be where he is!
Yes, experiences can differ, depending on the circumstances & who is asking the questions, but I would always look at the worst case scenario & ask yourself the crucial question, "am I ready for this?" & be prepared to give yourself a very honest answer!
If you are, then all the very best to you Mark, I hope that it goes well!!
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Rank: Forum user
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Mark
There are people who do this professionally - I would suggest you ask who ever has asked you to do this to look at obtaining one of them (- and depending on the discipline - there will for sure be lists - if not ask here or contact IOSH) for ALL the reasons that have been mentioned. Seen cases where as others have said 'experts' have been taken apart by clever lawyers.
Would echo what has been said and leave it to those who enjoy that sort of thing!
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