Spotlight On An Expert: October 2024

Somek & Associates presents, Helen Harrison, Occupational Therapist & Expert Witness:

"I qualified as an occupational therapist in 2010. My first job consisted of rotating around a variety of hospital wards. As soon as I started working on the acute stroke unit, I knew that I wanted to specialise in neurology. I progressed to specialise in neurological rehabilitation, and worked on other wards, including a level 1 rehabilitation unit and in the community. I especially enjoyed working with those who had experienced a brain injury. Each patient had a unique set of impairments and needed a tailor-made rehabilitation programme, which I was happy to provide. It was rewarding to see them progress in their independence and quality of life.

In 2018, I started working as an independent occupational therapist. By this time, I had three small children and needed flexible working hours. I thoroughly enjoyed working in an environment where resources were more readily available, and I did not need to work around long waiting lists. I tended to work within medicolegal, and case managed cases, and I enjoyed being able to work closely with other members of the MDT.
It was while working on one of these cases, that a speech and language therapy colleague recommended working as an expert witness with Somek. I was unsure initially, as I had no experience of this type of work and had no idea what was expected in the reports. She reassured me that at Somek, each person is allocated to a trainer, to support, check reports and to answer questions.

In 2023, I completed my first assessment. The first report took me hours to complete, but I felt well supported. I had so many questions, and each one was answered with kindness and patience. No question was out of bounds or too silly to ask. I found being able to submit draft reports for feedback to be immensely helpful, so by the time the final version was submitted, I felt confident with the quality and content included. I am currently working on my tenth report, and I feel my confidence is growing and the time taken to write the reports has much reduced. I still ask questions, and the same support is readily available.

This year, I set up my own Independent OT business, providing neurological occupational therapy for those around the Staffordshire area. I am finding that the expert witness work fits around this easily, as the report writing is incredibly flexible. I enjoy working with clients on their rehabilitation goals, alongside my expert witness work. I have found that I have enhanced in my assessment skills and in my ability to analyse clinical information to provide advice around future needs and costs. I have also learnt to trust more in my clinical opinions.

For anyone considering expert witness work, I would say go for it! It is a steep learning curve, but support is available, and it is extremely rewarding."

Go ahead and find out more over on our dedicated recruitment pages.