Plastics & Polymer Expert Witness

Disputes this covers

• Product liability — a plastic component cracked, fractured, leaked or degraded in service, and cause is contested.
• Supply and specification disputes — whether the resin, compound or moulded part delivered was the one specified, and whether a substituted grade was equivalent.
• Manufacturing disputes — whether a moulding, extrusion or compounding process was run in a way that damaged the material.
• Insurance and subrogation — a loss that traces back to a plastic fitting, housing, pipe or container.

The technical questions that usually decide the matter

• Was the fracture brittle or ductile, and where did it start?
• Is there evidence of environmental stress cracking, and what chemical was the part exposed to?
• Has the polymer degraded — by hydrolysis, oxidation, heat or ultraviolet light — and did that happen in processing or in service?
• Does the material in the failed part match the specified grade, including its additives and any regrind content?
• Did moulded-in stress, weld lines, voids or contamination put a defect where the load was highest?
• Was the material a reasonable choice for the temperature, load, chemicals and service life it was actually given?

Why this sits inside the principal’s field

Polymer science and engineering is the core discipline of this practice: it is the subject of the principal’s doctorate, of his professorship at The University of Southern Mississippi, and of the larger part of his refereed publications. The material classes covered include engineering plastics, polyolefins, polyamides, polyesters and polycarbonates, styrenics, polyurethanes and thermosets.

Credentials relevant to admissibility

• PhD in polymer science and engineering, University of Manchester (UMIST), England.
• Professor Emeritus of Polymer Science & Engineering, The University of Southern Mississippi; formerly professor of chemical engineering and of materials science and engineering, Iowa State University.
• Registered Chartered Engineer (UK) and Registered Chartered Scientist (UK).
• Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (UK), the Society of Plastics Engineers, and the Nigerian Academy of Engineering.
• Holder of seven patents; author of more than 150 publications in refereed archival scientific and engineering journals and books.
• Senior industrial experience, including as Senior Project Leader and Engineer at Corning Incorporated.

The full record, including awards and appointments, is set out on the credentials page.

How an engagement runs

Conflicts are cleared first. After an engagement agreement is in place, the evidence is reviewed, any testing is commissioned through independent university and industry laboratories, and the opinion is reported to counsel before it is written up. The scope of expert work, and answers to the questions counsel usually ask first, are on the Expert Witness & Litigation Support page.