LECS UK is a team of highly respected, independent and objective forensic engineers that carry out examinations, tests, accident investigation and reconstruction when needed. We provide authoritative, court-ready expert witness reports across all areas of mechanical handling and vertical transportation systems, to include lifts, escalators, moving walkways, funiculars, cableways and cable car systems.
With decades of experience, LECS UK is regularly instructed by solicitors, loss adjusters, insurers and corporate clients to provide clear, impartial engineering opinions in complex and high-value disputes. Our expert evidence is trusted in cases involving personal injury, alleged equipment defects, installation failures, contractual disputes, and professional negligence.
Trusted engineering expert witness
Our forensic engineers are frequently appointed as expert witnesses in litigation and dispute resolution proceedings across the UK and internationally. We act for both claimants and defendants, and we are experienced in acting as Single Joint Experts in accordance with Civil Procedure Rules (CPR).
Our expert witness services include:
- Preliminary technical advice and case review
- Detailed forensic investigation and root cause analysis
- Preparation of CPR-compliant expert reports
- Joint expert meetings and statements
- Court, tribunal and arbitration testimony
- Cross-examination support and rebuttal reports
In many cases, our early-stage expert opinion helps legal teams resolve disputes before trial, saving time and cost. Where matters proceed to court, our experts are highly experienced in presenting and defending their findings under cross-examination.
Areas of legal instruction
LECS UK consulting engineers have extensive experience providing expert evidence in:
- Criminal Courts
- Civil Courts
- Coroners’ Courts
- Tribunals (including Rent and Land Tribunals)
- Arbitration and Adjudication
- Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
- Expert Determination and Conciliation
Recognised and accredited expertise
LECS UK holds the prestigious Law Society ‘checked and listed’ status for expert witness services, reflecting the quality, independence and reliability of our work.
We are also independently verified and included in leading expert witness directories:
- The Expert Witness Directory
- Sweet & Maxwell Expert Witness Directory
Our engineers are members of leading professional institutions, including:
- Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)
- Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
- Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE)
- Society of Operations Engineers (SOE)
- Bureau of Engineer Surveyors (BES)
Consulting specialist engineers for lifts, escalators, funiculars, cable ways, and all vertical transportation
Expert Witness | Professor Eur Ing David A Cooper, MBE BSc (Hons), MSc, MPhil, CEng, FCIBSE, FSoVT, FSOE, FBES, FCGI
Eur Ing Professor Dave Cooper MBE is a globally recognised authority in lifts, escalators, cableways, funicular systems and materials-handling technology. With over 40 years of specialist experience, he is widely regarded as a leading expert witness in vertical transportation engineering.
Professor Cooper is fully trained in the legal requirements of expert reporting and regularly accepts instructions in cases involving personal injury, professional negligence, and complex engineering disputes. He acts for both claimants and defendants, as well as in the capacity of Single Joint Expert.
He has provided expert evidence in civil and criminal courts, as well as Coroners’ Courts, across the UK, Ireland and internationally.
As CEO of LECS UK, Professor Cooper combines practical engineering expertise with extensive academic research into accident causation, safety systems and risk management. He is co-author of the authoritative text Elevator & Escalator Accident Investigation & Litigation and is recognised as a First Tier Expert by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).
Areas of Expertise
- Materials-handling technology
- Lifting and handling machinery
- Lifts, escalators and hoists
- Moving walkways and cableways
- Funicular railway systems
Expert Witness | Michael Ford, BEng (Hons) IEng ACIBSE ASoVT MSOE MBES
Michael Ford is an experienced consulting engineer and expert witness specialising in lifts, escalators and vertical transportation systems. With a strong background in forensic investigation, engineering inspection and compliance, he provides clear, evidence-based opinions in technically complex disputes.
Mr. Ford is open for instructions by solicitors, insurers and loss adjusters in cases involving personal injury, alleged equipment failure, maintenance deficiencies and regulatory compliance. His work spans both claimant and defendant instructions, and can act as a Single Joint Expert under Civil Procedure Rules.
He combines detailed technical knowledge with a practical, methodical approach to investigation, ensuring that expert reports are robust, and fully compliant with legal standards. His ability to clearly communicate complex engineering issues makes him particularly effective in joint expert discussions, mediations and court proceedings. Mr Ford has contributed to numerous cases resolved pre-trial.
Areas of Expertise
- Lift and escalator systems
- Maintenance, inspection and compliance failures
- Mechanical and electrical fault analysis
- Accident investigation and causation
- Risk assessment and safety standards
- Forensic engineering reporting
Why instruct LECS UK as lift and escalator expert witness?
Choosing the right vertical transportation expert witness can significantly influence the outcome of a case. LECS UK combines technical expertise with legal awareness to deliver reports and testimony that stand up to scrutiny.
- Independent and objective – trusted by both claimants and defendants
- CPR-compliant reporting – clear, structured and court-ready
- Extensive court experience – confident under cross-examination
- Specialist expertise – focused on lifts, escalators and mechanical handling systems
- Early-stage insight – helping resolve cases before trial where possible
Our reputation is built on technical excellence, integrity and clarity, key factors valued by courts, the legal and insurance sectors.
Request an expert opinion
If you require a qualified engineering expert witness for a current or potential case, our team is ready to assist. Speak directly with an engineering expert witness today to discuss your requirements, timescales and scope of instruction.
- Request a preliminary case review
- Obtain a fee proposal and availability
- Discuss Single Joint Expert appointments
- Arrange urgent site inspections or investigations
Contact LECS UK to instruct an expert witness or request further information.
LECS (UK) is a highly professional lift consultancy that provides a very responsive and high quality service.
A great benefit to me over the past three years, providing assistance with H&S Lift Safety investigation Report – advice on contracts and staff selection.
Very practical and straightforward to work with.
Running a funicular railway that is almost a hundred years old requires a lot of expertise and patience. Throw in a beachside location and a lot of salt in the air and the maintenance becomes all consuming. For almost 15 years we have been able to call on David Cooper and his team at LECS UK to assist us and also to carry out our inspections. It is fair to say that without their professionalism, attention to detail and go the extra mile attitude, the railway would have closed along with so many other parts of our national heritage. LECS UK has enabled an amateur charitable group to take over an inclined cable railway and run it with confidence and profitability, something for which we are very grateful.
We operate hotels, serviced apartments and luxury private residential units. The smooth running of our vertical transportation systems is paramount and we are delighted to have LECS UK’s support to rely on.
We have used the engineering services of LECS(UK) for a number of years supporting various corporate and retail clients predominantly with the provision of periodic engineering lift inspections. We have always found the LECS team courteous, professional in all regard and responsive. A recent example of their prompt response required a LOLER inspection for a retail client who simply had let their ‘in store’ passenger lift inspection lapse. One call at 7pm and they were on site at 9am the following morning! – Highly recommended
TGP thanks LECS UK for the professionalism shown in executing our recent works. It was always envisaged this would prove to be a troublesome project to complete so to complete on schedule given the additional recent and on-going restrictions and anxieties [Corona Virus] speaks volumes for LECS.
As an independent authorising engineer (lifts) providing services to NHS Trusts we needed an independent lift engineer consultant to perform the audits of the maintenance being performed for our client Trusts. A single call to LECS (UK) to discuss what options were available and the need to audit to the requirements of HTM 08-02 resulted in a very positive response.
We have a long relationship with LECS UK and value their professional advice for both consultancy and project management of the lifts in our buildings. We are pleased that the entire project [Park Lane, London] was professionally managed by LECS UK. LECS UK’s advice and management of this project was invaluable.
