Independent orthopaedic opinion
Clear, evidence-led condition and prognosis reports for personal injury claims.
Trauma and orthopaedic surgeon with a CCT and FRCS (Tr & Orth), trained in North West London and currently practising across shoulder, elbow and upper-limb trauma. Instructions accepted across general trauma and orthopaedic injury.
Instructions accepted
I report across general trauma and orthopaedic injury, with a subspecialty interest in the shoulder, elbow and upper limb. Where a case falls outside my expertise I will say so at the enquiry stage rather than after instruction.
Condition and prognosis reports following road traffic collisions, slips, trips and falls, and public liability claims. Covering the index injury, treatment received, current symptoms and function, likely recovery, need for future surgery, and effect on work and daily activities.
Employers' liability claims involving fractures, crush and machinery injury, manual handling injury and repetitive strain, together with assessment of residual capacity for the claimant's occupation.
Whether the injuries claimed are attributable to the index accident, the contribution of pre-existing degenerative change, and acceleration or exacerbation of a prior condition.
Short written opinions on the merits of a claim before a full report is commissioned, and on whether a further specialist opinion is required.
Answers to Part 35 questions, conferences with counsel, joint statements with the opposing expert, and attendance at trial where required.
Fractures and soft tissue injury throughout the skeleton, including polytrauma. Hip, knee, ankle and foot injury, ligamentous injury and post-traumatic arthritis. Shoulder and elbow injury including rotator cuff tears, traumatic dislocation and instability, acromioclavicular injury, and proximal humeral, clavicle, radial head and olecranon fractures. Wrist and hand injury including distal radius fractures, malunion and functional loss.
Why this work matters
Orthopaedic injury can affect work, independence and daily life long after the initial treatment has ended. My role is to separate what is clinically supportable from what is not, explain it in language the court can use, and give a realistic view of recovery and future care.
I value careful preparation, balanced reasoning and clarity about the limits of my expertise. If an instruction requires a different specialist, I will say so at the outset.
Clinical practice
I completed higher specialty training in Trauma and Orthopaedics in North West London, on the North West Thames rotation, with posts at St Mary's Major Trauma Centre, Northwick Park, Hillingdon, Ealing and West Middlesex. That rotation covered the full breadth of the specialty: major trauma, hip and knee, foot and ankle, spinal and paediatric orthopaedics, alongside the upper limb.
My current post is an Upper Limb Fellowship at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton, accredited by the British Elbow & Shoulder Society and the Royal College of Surgeons of England, with an operative practice in shoulder, elbow and upper-limb trauma and elective surgery.
Active clinical practice matters in medico-legal work. An expert who no longer treats the injury in question is open to the criticism that his opinion reflects the standards of an earlier era. My assessment of prognosis is drawn from patients I am operating on and following up now.
A full curriculum vitae and validated eLogbook are provided to instructing solicitors on request.
Qualifications
I completed Bond Solon expert witness training in August 2026, covering the expert's duties to the court, report writing to CPR Part 35 standards, and giving evidence under cross-examination.
I hold professional indemnity through the Medical Protection Society, membership number 392771.
Published work on reverse shoulder arthroplasty complications and elbow pathology, with presentations to the British Elbow & Shoulder Society and SICOT. A current record of peer-reviewed activity supports opinion on contemporary practice.
Academic work
My published work spans upper-limb trauma, surgical outcomes, emergency surgery and clinical audit. The selection below includes a peer-reviewed clinical article, published conference abstracts and a surgical book contribution. A full publication and presentation list is available in my curriculum vitae.
Aldanyowi SN, Ashwood N, Dekker AP, Erdman P, Tambe A. Cureus. 2026;18(7):e111942. A case report examining a complex salvage pathway culminating in large-head bipolar hemiarthroplasty, with brachial plexus neuropraxia.
Cottam D, Erdman P, Littlejohn I. Audit and analysis of contributory factors. Published abstract, AAGBI GAT Annual Scientific Meeting, 2015.
Vulliamy P, Perkins Z, Erdman P, Manson J. Published in the European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery, 2015.
Vulliamy P, Erdman P, Manson J. Published abstract, 16th European Congress of Trauma and Emergency Surgery, 2015.
Erdman P. Chapter 3.20 in Core Surgery Interview: The Definitive Guide with Over 500 Interview Questions for Core Surgical Training Interviews. MD+ Publishing, 2015.
Process
I accept instructions from claimant solicitors, defendant solicitors and insurers, and as a single joint expert. The identity of the instructing party does not affect the content of the opinion.
Send a brief outline of the claim. I will confirm within two working days whether the case falls within my expertise, whether there is any conflict, and my availability.
On receipt of the letter of instruction, records and the agreed fee basis, I confirm acceptance in writing and give a delivery date.
Medical records, imaging and witness evidence are reviewed. Where examination is required, appointments are arranged at consulting rooms convenient to the claimant, ordinarily in London or the Midlands. Remote assessment can be offered where appropriate and where the claimant consents. Please indicate any location requirements at the enquiry stage.
A CPR Part 35 compliant report is delivered with the required declaration and statement of truth. I remain available for Part 35 questions, conferences with counsel, joint statements and, if required, oral evidence.
Fees
A tailored quotation is provided once the scope of the instruction, volume of records, complexity of the issues and required timetable are known. Fees are agreed in writing before the instruction is accepted and are never contingent on the outcome of the claim.
Where a claimant fails to attend, or cancels within five working days of a booked appointment, the examination fee remains payable.
Expedited reporting can usually be accommodated where a limitation date or listed hearing requires it. Please raise this at the enquiry stage.
Questions
I hold a CCT in Trauma and Orthopaedics and the FRCS (Tr & Orth), and I am currently completing a post-CCT upper limb fellowship. For condition and prognosis work in personal injury, what matters is current, specialist, hands-on experience of the injury in question, which I have. I do not hold myself out as able to give breach of duty opinion on the practice of a substantive consultant, and I will decline such instructions.
No. I am trained and certified across trauma and orthopaedics generally, and report on fractures and soft tissue injury throughout the skeleton. The shoulder, elbow and upper limb are my subspecialty interest and current operative focus.
Both, and as a single joint expert. My duty is to the court and my opinion does not change according to who instructs me.
Standard turnaround is 4 to 6 weeks from receipt of complete records. Expedited work can usually be accommodated where there is a limitation or listing pressure.
At consulting rooms arranged to suit the claimant, ordinarily in London or the Midlands. Remote assessment can be offered in suitable cases where the claimant consents and where a reliable opinion can be given without physical examination. Records-based opinions, where no examination is required, can be provided anywhere in England and Wales.
Claimant solicitors, defendant solicitors, insurers, and instructions as a single joint expert. Instructions are accepted throughout England and Wales. Records-based opinions require no examination and can be provided anywhere.
Yes. Enquiries are answered within two working days with confirmation of expertise, availability and any conflict of interest. Standard turnaround for a report is four to six weeks from receipt of complete records.
I interpret plain radiographs, CT and MRI of the upper limb as part of routine surgical practice. Where a dedicated radiological opinion is required, I will say so.
Contact
Enquiries from solicitors, counsel and insurers are welcome. Please include a short summary of the claim and the date of the index accident.
enquiries@erdman-medicolegal.co.uk
Enquiries are answered within two working days.
Formal instructions: instructions@erdman-medicolegal.co.uk
Please do not send identifiable medical records by ordinary email. Secure transfer arrangements will be agreed before records are provided.
Instructions accepted throughout England and Wales. Examinations arranged at consulting rooms to suit the claimant.
A full CV, including logbook and publication list, is provided on request.
