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A demonstrably incapable and incompetent witness who was not fit to have been put forward as an expert witness
Keith Rix 807

A demonstrably incapable and incompetent witness who was not fit to have been put forward as an expert witness

byKeith Rix

 

Commentary

Judgment in this case was given by Master Evan Bell, a previous Grange Conference speaker, and the author of ‘Judicial assessment of expert evidence’ in the Judicial Studies Institute Journal, 2: 55-96, 2010 (https://ie.vlex.com/vid/judicial-assessment-of-expert-847477374 ) which might usefully be read with this case summary. Master Bell’s 13-point framework, which he used when considering the expert evidence, is also a useful framework for experts to use when reflecting on their expert witness practice or that of another expert in a case-based discussion or peer review. His framework is also a useful one for expert witness training.

For surveyor experts, the case illustrates some very basic errors and it may therefore also be a useful case for expert surveyor witness training.   

Learning points:
  •   Beware over-reliance on the subject’s account to the exclusion of documentary evidence.

  •    An expert report is only as good as the assumptions on which it is based.

  •    Where one expert’s methodology is more sound than another’s, that expert’s opinion may be accorded more weight.

  •     It is rare for expert speculation to assist.  

  •     Inspection or examination must be thorough

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