Expert Witness

Listed below are just a few of the topics upon which John Pryke & Partners have given expert evidence as part of their expert structural engineer commissions either for Claimant, Defendant or as Single Joint Expert. In addition to our expert structural engineer services we also act as expert party wall surveyors and advise extensively on insurance claims for the domestic and commercial markets.

Geotechnical
• Collapse of 80 and 150 year old masonry retaining walls.
• The collapse of a golf driving range built on a limestone quarry.
• Failure of raft foundations to aluminium framed housing.
• Failure of buoyant raft foundation on peat soil.
• Failure of warehouse floor slabs in industrial/commercial premises due to design/construction deficiencies.
• Partial collapse of an underpinned house in flood conditions.
• Failure of industrial floor slabs due to heave of steel slag hardcore.
• Adequacy of site investigations for brownfield development on hazardous ground.
• The failure of a 4 storey building on vibro-improved ground.
• Failure of an industrial building constructed on a backfilled open-cast mining site.
• Failure of industrial buildings on a contaminated brownfield development.
• Collapse of mass concrete retaining wall due to nearby construction activity.

Highways
• Earthworks and block paving failure to an industrial facility.
• Failure of heavy duty pavement at a container port.
• Failure of proprietary asphalt surfacing at a vehicle racing circuit.
• Failure of an innovative grouted Macadam surfacing at an industrial facility.
• Adjudication evidence on defects to design of multi-storey car park.
• Damage caused to jetty due to crane usage.

Personal Injury
• Personal Injury claims due to trip hazards.
• Causes of failure of temporary road surface leading to vehicle accident-induced injuries.
• Slip hazards caused by misuse of de-icing materials.
• Liability for injuries sustained during the demolition of a retaining wall.

Construction
• Vibration nuisance in an industrial facility.
• Temporary works failures during construction operations.
• The failure of a piled foundation to a 5-storey office buiding due to adjacent piling works.
• Collapse of inner city commercial building due to constructional activity.

Fire
• Fire damage to Victorian factory including consequential loss analysis.
• Fire damage to steel framed superstore including Third Party liability.
• Structural fire protection deficiencies to system built school buildings.

Damp
• Damp penetration through the new undercroft of a 15th Century Church.
• Dry rot penetration through a party wall due to neglect.
• The causes of and design responsibility for the failure of a proprietary damp proofing system in a commercial basement.

Subsidence/Heave
• Foundation failures (subsidence and heave) on NHBC registered developments.
• Tree root damage to buildings and structures.
• Heave failure of several forms of domestic and commercial foundations.
• Contractor's non-compliance with NHBC Standards and NHBC Rules.

Contract
• Temporary works collapse during an office refurbishment.
• Engineers duties when approving specialist product designs.
• Structural Engineer's reports - survey and report failings.
• Risk analysis for foundation repair schemes.

Steelwork
• The collapse of a 2500 tonne silo - structural designer and design review responsibilities.
• The contractual responsibilities of a steelwork fabricator and checking Engineer.
• Definition of secondary steelwork in Design and Build contracts.
• Adjudication report on complex steel frame erection sequence and contractual aspects of delays.

Building Fabric
• Product liability regarding stone cladding failure.
• Composite decking failure under Contractor's All Risks Insurance.
• Structural and component failure to 12 multi-storey housing blocks.
• Collapse of a dry stone walled cottage.
• Structural failures due to defective double glazing installations.
• Defects due to fabric of church hall built from reconstituted stone.
• Defects to timber flooring in prestige domestic development.
• Failure of specialist asphalt roofing sytem to residential block.

Domestic Surveys
• Deficiencies in Valuation and Homebuyers building surveys.
• Building disputes during residential/commercial refurbishment contracts.
• Building disputes under Party Wall Act legislation.
• Contract dispute resolution for domestic building projects.
• Dispute resolution between contractor and consultant regarding defective restaurant refurbishment.