Expert Witness

My areas of expertise with respect to Expert Witness work include:

  • Antibiotics
  • Bacteria
  • Biotechnology
  • Diagnostic tests
  • DNA sequencing
  • Food Poisoning
  • Healthcare-acquired infections, including Clostridium difficile, MRSA, Pseudomonas aeruginosa
  • Legionnaires Disease outbreaks
  • Microbiology
  • Prevention and control of infections 
  • Water Pollution and Water Quality

In the last 10 years I have acted as an expert witness in civil disputes that have involved Legionella pneumophilia, MRSA and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, all of which cause infections in humans. I have been instructed by Ashurst LLP; DLA Piper LLP; Macfarlanes LLP and Pinsent Masons LLP. Currently I am acting as an expert witness in a case involving serious Legionella infections. 

I have 40 years of experience in research with bacteria that cause infections in humans. I am an expert on Legionella and Pseudomonas in the water systems of hospitals and residential buildings, Legionella in cooling towers, and the limitations of molecular methods including whole genome sequencing in the identification of sources of Legionella outbreaks. I have a unique range of expertise from the biology of the disease-causing bacteria, detailed knowledge of the prevention and control of infections, and wide experience of the current regulatory requirements for preventing infections.

I have also acted in a civil dispute concerning the development of a diagnostic test to detect methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). This reflects my expertise with this important pathogen as well as in biotechnology, diagnostics and genome sequencing.

I am a recognized UK expert on the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections caused by pathogens such as Clostridium difficile and MRSA. My expertise in this area would be relevant to disputes concerning the potential or actual transmission of infections in the workplace, residential buildings, hotels and hospitals. 

I retired in December 2012 as the Professor of Microbiology in the University of Nottingham Medical School and became an Emeritus Professor of the University of Nottingham. 

I have acted as a consultant to a range of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and molecular diagnostics companies, and am regularly consulted as a clinical adviser by USA based stockbrokers and Accountancy firms researching the NHS as a potential market for new diagnostic tests.

I was awarded the Communications award 2008 by the Society for Applied Microbiology for raising the profile of the issues of healthcare-associated infections and antibiotic resistance to the wider public in over 300 interviews for TV, radio and the printed media. Examples of these include:

TV:

ITN Trevor MacDonald programme on Superbugs
Spinal interview in BBC Panorama “How Safe is Your Hospital”

Radio:

Contributer to Radio 4 Frontiers programme “New Approaches to Infectious Diseases”
BBC Radio 4 programme “Warding off the germs”
BBC Radio World Service Discovery programme “Hospital Acquired Infections”
BBC Radio 4 “Rise of Resistance” Part 1 and 2 with Dr Mark Porter (04/04/07
BBC Five Live with Nicky Campbell on infections as part of the NHS 60th Anniversary
Interview on BBC Material World programme on antibiotic discovery
Radio Five Live on Belfast hospital Pseudomonas infection story

Print:

Profiled in the Guardian in an article entitled “War on terror”
Invited article “The tale of a microbiologist and the media” for The Microbiologist Vol 8 No 3
Invited article “Battling the bug” for the House of Commons The House Magazine Health Special report
Contributed to articles re CMO England report on antibiotic resistance

Quoted in more than 200 newspaper/magazine articles since 2006.