Steven Docker Associates design homes for severely disabled individuals throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. This experience provides us with the “hands-on” practical experience necessary to provide the Court with accurate and impartial reports in cases of Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury claims.
All the members of the Expert Witness Department have secured the Certificate of Expert Witness Accreditation from Cardiff University Law School.
Over the past 37 years we have prepared Expert Witness reports in cases involving:
Instructions are received from Solicitors representing Claimants, Defendants and Insurance Companies. Joint reports are also produced for the Court on behalf of both parties.
We are able to assist on such matters as:
An assessment showing the increase in domestic running costs as a consequence of both the disability and the changed home environment. Our work is considered to be high quality and cost effective. We cover the whole of the UK and occasionally abroad.
The opinions expressed as an Expert Witness will always be impartial, unbiased and objective in order to be of maximum independent assistance to the Court. When producing expert witness reports to assist the Court in matters of our expertise, that duty overrides any obligation to those instructing us or their Clients.
We always comply with the requirements set out in Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules and the accompanying Practice Direction, the Protocol for the Instruction of Experts to give Evidence in Civil Claims, and the Practice Direction for Preaction conduct. All reports are prepared in accordance with the Code of Practice for Experts. Reports prepared for the Court comply with the requirements of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, as expressed in its guide to best practice entitled “Surveyors acting as expert witnesses”.
Steven Docker
As the Principal of the practice, Steven Docker co-ordinates the activities of the primary divisions within the firm. But his main role is as an Accommodation Expert Witness. He assesses the accommodation needs of individuals who are disabled and specialises in designing schemes for the adaptation of homes to suit their needs. He has over 40 years’ experience as an Expert Witness specialising in designing for the disabled and supervising the adaptation of properties and the construction of purpose built dwellings specially designed for disabled individuals.
Solicitors instructing Steven, and barristers recommending him, on a regular basis consider him to be one of the country’s leading Housing Experts. He is a founding member of the Expert Witness Institute has given oral evidence and been cross-examined on numerous occasions in the High Court and the County Court and at Criminal Injury Compensation Authority hearings.
Tom Docker
Tom is a Chartered Surveyor and RICS Registered Valuer with over 18 years experience in designing residential adaptation schemes for people with a wide range of disabilities, including spinal cord injuries, acquired brain injuries, cerebral palsy and amputations. He is actively involved, on a day-to-day basis, with the acquisition (purchase and rental) of properties and the implementation of inclusive design projects for individuals with severe disabilities throughout the UK. He has designed a wide range of schemes for the adaptation of existing properties and specifically designed new-build dwellings to meet the needs of disabled individuals.
Tom has specialised in assessing the suitability of residential properties to meet the needs of people with disabilities, as well as the valuation of properties and purchase (and rental) price negotiation, since 2005. He has also consulted on the design of residential rehabilitation centres.
Tom has been an Accommodation Expert Witness in personal injury and clinical negligence cases for over 10 years and produces reports on the instructions of solicitors representing both Claimants and Defendants. He also receives instructions to act as a Single Joint Expert. He is a 1st Tier Expert for the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and also holds the Certificate of Expert Witness Accreditation from Cardiff University Law School/Bond Solon.
