Many hand, wrist and arm personal injury claims settle without ever reaching trial. They may settle late, sometimes only days before trial. Part of an expert’s role is to help the court understand the injury and its prognosis. That understanding serves the parties too. A report that does this thoroughly should leave little to challenge under cross-examination. Even so, a case can still reach trial and an expert witness may be called to give evidence. So, what should a solicitor weigh when instructing a Hand Therapy expert in Northern Ireland?
Much of the answer is straightforward. The expert needs deep clinical expertise and real experience of treating these injuries and conditions, along with the formal training and qualification to write to the standard a court requires.
Other considerations are less obvious. Hand Therapists differ in their level and scope, so the title alone tells a solicitor little about the expertise behind an opinion. Hand Therapy is also closely tied to institutions. When someone suffers a hand, wrist or arm injury, especially a traumatic one, there is a good chance they have already been treated by a Hand Therapist or an institutional Hand Therapy service.
What an independent expert witness brings to the report
The clearest statement of an expert’s role in civil proceedings is that the expert’s overriding duty is to help the court on matters within their expertise. That duty overrides any obligation to the instructing party. A completely independent practitioner with no institutional ties gives that principle practical force. The expert assesses the claimant, considers the available evidence and reaches a view on diagnosis, causation, prognosis and rehabilitation needs grounded in the clinical findings. That view is then set out in a report that is admissible whether served by the Claimant or the Defendant.
The clinical foundation
Clinical depth gives an expert opinion its weight. Ms Razo is a Consultant Hand Therapist and a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT). The CHT is an internationally recognised credential and benchmark for excellence in Hand Therapy, awarded by the Hand Therapy Certification Commission (HTCC) on the basis of substantial clinical practice and a rigorous specialist examination. She is Belfast’s first and only CHT.
Her clinical experience spans Plastic Surgery, Orthopaedics, Neurology and Rheumatology, gained in trauma centres in the United States, London and Belfast. Ms Razo’s clinical remit runs from the hand to the shoulder, the same scope she reports on in medico-legal work. Every medico-legal opinion she gives is built on that direct and current clinical practice.
Formal expert witness training
Clinical expertise is necessary but not sufficient. An expert report serves the court only when it is written and presented to the standard the court requires.
Currently, no formal expert witness training exists for Northern Ireland, nor is it required to undertake medico-legal instructions. This means the standard, quality and format of expert reports can vary widely. Ms Razo holds the Cardiff University Bond Solon Expert Witness Civil Certificate. The training covers report writing to court standards, CPR compliance, expert joint discussions, joint statements, cross-examination and court procedure. Her reports are prepared to that standard. She is available to attend court or tribunal to give oral evidence when required.
The shape of an independent practice
Hand Therapy in the UK is most often delivered through public health and private hospital services. Most of the specialty’s expertise is therefore concentrated inside those institutions. Fully independent Hand Therapy practices in this specialty are uncommon. In Northern Ireland the pattern is more pronounced. Ms Razo’s clinic is Northern Ireland’s only fully independent advanced practice Hand Therapy clinic. She is also the only Hand Therapist in Northern Ireland to hold the Cardiff University Bond Solon Expert Witness qualification.
Ms Razo is a fully independent Consultant Hand Therapist. The clinic operates independently of any NHS, HSC or private hospital, with no commercial arrangements that tie her opinion to any single instructing party. She accepts instructions from both Claimant and Defendant solicitors, from insurers and from case managers. Work spans advisory opinions, desktop reports and formal Part 35 expert reports. Each opinion is formed on the basis of objective clinical assessment.
In practice, independence gives an instructing party two concrete advantages.
The most direct is impartiality. The opinion is the expert’s own and stands or falls on its merits.
Independence also makes the practice operationally flexible. Scheduling, turnaround and attendance at expert joint discussions or court are arranged directly with the practitioner, with no institutional diary in between.
A rare combination
A fully independent Hand Therapy expert witness carries no institutional conflict of interest, owes their duty solely to the court and forms each opinion on objective clinical assessment alone. Ms Razo combines that independence with the clinical standing of a Consultant Hand Therapist, Extended Scope Practitioner and Certified Hand Therapist, alongside formal expert witness training. Few practitioners bring all of this to a single instruction.
Where a case calls for a specialist opinion on the diagnosis, function, rehabilitation or prognosis of a hand, wrist, elbow or other upper limb injury, Ms Razo provides exactly that.
To instruct Ms Razo or to discuss whether an expert opinion is required, visit the medico-legal services page or contact the clinic directly. If you are a represented individual, your solicitor should make the formal instruction; if you are exploring your options, you are welcome to contact the clinic for an initial enquiry.
Across the UK
The same independent Hand Therapy expert witness practice is available to instructing parties across the United Kingdom with scheduled medico-legal clinics through Upper Hand Medico-Legal, Ms Razo’s UK-wide expert witness service.