Forensic Services

When legal disputes regarding construction practices arise, you can count on the expertise, credibility, and communication skills of the forensics team at MLAW Forensics to win your case. MLAW Forensics will assess the problem and offer their professional opinion. If requested, they can prepare the necessary documents with corrective measures and provide oversight or management of the repair work. In situations where structural movement is an issue, MLAW Forensics strives to mitigate its damaging effects. Additionally, they can be called upon to write certificates of merit or provide expert testimony.

Forensic engineering is a highly specialized field requiring not only technical and engineering expertise but also credibility and communication skills. Based on MLAW's extensive knowledge in civil, geotechnical, structural, and materials engineering, MLAW Forensics has become a solid and reliable resource in construction litigation for attorneys on both sides of the aisle.

MLAW Forensics' senior forensics expert, Dean Read, P.E., has provided expert testimony in numerous cases of varying types. Attorneys, judges, and juries trust Dean and his team to accurately explain what went wrong, who was responsible, and what is needed to make it right.

MLAW Forensics offers a broad range of services to attorneys in construction litigation, valuable for determining facts, establishing probable cause, validating claims, assessing damages, and estimating remediation costs. Their investigative services include:

• Failure analysis and documentation of structural, architectural, and foundation construction.

• Analysis of engineering and architectural plans.

• Geotechnical and materials engineering laboratory testing.

• Evaluation of construction practices, including cost estimating, bidding and contracting procedures, and plans and specification analysis.

• Assessment of construction blasting, excavation safety, subsidence, and subsurface conditions.

• Investigation of building envelope water penetration.

• Documentation of distress levels, failure mechanisms, and evaluation of their impact on the structure's life and use.

• Evaluation of engineering investigations and reports.

• Determination of actual as-built job conditions.

• Detailed reporting of all findings.

MLAW Forensics also provides comprehensive cost estimating services:

• Preliminary estimates of investigation costs.

• Approximate range of remediation and other damage costs.

• Detailed estimate of remediation costs.

• Estimate of future and recurring project costs related to levels of actual remediation.

• Estimate of impact on market value.

In support of litigation, MLAW Forensics offers:

• Record and document searches.

• Presentation of evidence.

• Preparation of videos, slide shows, static displays, and modeling.

• Appraisals.

When called upon to provide expert testimony in deposition or trial, MLAW Forensics serves as credible and reliable witnesses. Frequent referrals from attorney clients are a testament to MLAW Forensics' credentials and communication skills.