Looking for an expert witness

[Globalti]

Yes, your description is quite vague, which wouldn't help in court. I would take it up with the retailer; you'd be amazed at what you can achieve with a firm but friendly and non-confrontational discussion. Business revolves on face-to-face meetings because you can achieve so much more than you can with emails or letters or phone calls. I would stroll in to the shop and suggest the retailer replaces the broken part and returns it to the manufacturer or whoever assembled the bike. My fallback position would be that the retailer sells me a replacement part at cost and fits it.

 

[GfromHull]

How much is the bike worth?
As said above it will cost you £1,000's to get a forensic expert to examine it.
I have done a few of these through work, getting metalurgists to examine and rule on weld failures. They use dye pen techniques and very high powered microscopes, to examine the graines of the metal to asecrtain how and why the material failed. The report will have to be drafted in expert witness format which will also be costly.
You could try your local University to see if there is a PHD student in the metalurgy department who wants to look at it, and has access to the equipment?

Hull University's metallurgist is my friends Dad. Solicitor said with personal involvement I can't use him. Was gutted.

 

[GfromHull]

Yes, your description is quite vague, which wouldn't help in court. I would take it up with the retailer; you'd be amazed at what you can achieve with a firm but friendly and non-confrontational discussion. Business revolves on face-to-face meetings because you can achieve so much more than you can with emails or letters or phone calls. I would stroll in to the shop and suggest the retailer replaces the broken part and returns it to the manufacturer or whoever assembled the bike. My fallback position would be that the retailer sells me a replacement part at cost and fits it.

I have more or less lost the use of my left hand to the failure. As you can understand.

 

[Beebo]

I have more or less lost the use of my left hand to the failure. As you can understand.

Solicitor said with personal involvement I can't use him. Was gutted

So this is a Personal Injury claim, and you have a solicitior representing you?
Surely they can recommend an expert, and the costs could be covered by a no win no fee arrangement.

 

[AndyRM]

So this is a Personal Injury claim, and you have a solicitior representing you?
Surely they can recommend an expert, and the costs could be covered by a no win no fee arrangement.

/\ This.

Your solicitor should be arranging experts for all aspects of your claim, so that's investigation into the failure and injuries.

 

[User6179]

Put the name of the part/bike on all Cycling websites and see if there has been more failures , I snapped a crank leg once and later found out there had been a recall of similar crank by the same company.

 

[vickster]

Hull University's metallurgist is my friends Dad. Solicitor said with personal involvement I can't use him. Was gutted.

Can't they recommend someone? These academics will know others. Leeds university has a large engineering department among others

 

[nickyboy]

You're compromising your personal injury claim by trying to get involved. It is the solicitor's responsibility to arrange this as they see fit. By all means recommend someone to the solicitor but then you've got to leave it to them. It'll cost a heap of cash to get someone and the solicitor will have to decide if it is worth it or not, not you. If they engage someone and then lose the case that's their problem so they have to make the call.

 

[GfromHull]

You're compromising your personal injury claim by trying to get involved. It is the solicitor's responsibility to arrange this as they see fit. By all means recommend someone to the solicitor but then you've got to leave it to them. It'll cost a heap of cash to get someone and the solicitor will have to decide if it is worth it or not, not you. If they engage someone and then lose the case that's their problem so they have to make the call.

Thanks for the advice