HG Cornerstone offers complete forensic engineering services. But what is forensic Engineering?
The following definition of forensic engineering is offered in the most contemporary sense of the term and is focused on matters involving construction, design, property damage, financial loss, and personal injury:
Forensic engineering is the investigation of the cause, or causes, of failure involving buildings, structures, construction materials, building components, durability, serviceability, products, equipment, maintenance and care, construction means and methods, design professional work product, adherence to contract terms and conditions, and adherence to codes, laws, regulations, and other special requirements. Such failures have caused, or were alleged to have caused, property damage, financial loss, personal injury, or even wrongful death.
Forensic engineering studies and evaluations are carried out to assist an interested party in establishing and understanding the facts surrounding such failures.
An interested party may include an insurance carrier, surety, litigator, corporate in-house counsel, court, jury, arbitrator, mediator, plaintiff, defendant, manufacturer, supplier, business owner, property owner, estate, family member, or the like, and often include a mix of the foregoing.
HG Cornerstone works nationwide, specializing our forensic engineering services on catastrophic insurance claims, building construction defects cases, engineering and design issues, personal injury, and real property matters.
Our forensic engineering services include:
Our forensic engineering services typically focus on matters involving:
Clients in every facet of the construction, design, insurance, and surety industries utilize our forensic engineering services including:
HG Cornerstone’s cost-effective yet powerful forensic engineering methods and techniques deliver timely analyses. We offer fact-based determinations of cause and detailed nature and extent of loss evaluations.
We are proficient at performing site inspections, forensic evaluations and damage assessments.
Our forensic work is backed by over 30 years of hands-on construction practice, direct construction supervision, site safety responsibility, construction management, civil engineering, environmental engineering, and commercial real estate experience.
HG Cornerstone has access to the most state-of-the art facilities and equipment for testing evidence, materials and building products.
We can test virtually any construction material, building component or building product.
This makes our forensic engineering services most comprehensive.
At HG Cornerstone, we competently and methodically perform our forensic engineering work with precision and diligence. We possess considerable experience and know-how in scientific and engineering forensic evaluations and evidence testing. We offer a wide range of forensic capabilities and testing services.
We help legal counsel develop a comprehensive technical strategy. We guide legal counsel to know exactly what questions to ask and, specifically, which areas merit investigation or testing.
We also help link the technical issues and our findings to the legal case strategy.
In short, we are technical problem solvers and strategists.
HG Cornerstone is prepared to quickly mobilize to the site in question or the claim occurrence scene to conduct a complete forensic engineering investigation. Once at the site or occurrence scene, we can perform full documentation of existing conditions including digital photo-documentation, detailed measurements, data and information collection, evidence and specimen collection and other forensic work.
HG Cornerstone has the capability to perform a wide array of customized onsite evidence and specimen testing using portable tools and specialized equipment. We also collect and package evidence, samples and specimens for laboratory analyses and testing at a wide variety of specialized laboratories that we work with nationwide.
Oftentimes, a joint occurrence scene investigation will be attended and conducted by expert witnesses and forensic specialists from both the plaintiff’s side and the insurance defense side.
A written set of examination protocols or procedures, that are prepared and distributed to each interested party ahead of time for review and comment, can be most beneficial. We also work out key issues like whether or not any testing will be destructive in nature or non-destructive. This keeps things running smoothly and reduces the likelihood for conflicts, disagreements or misunderstandings during the investigation.
HG Cornerstone possesses the required technical skills and is ready to quickly and efficiently prepare written protocols and procedures for conducting joint scene investigations. We are also adept at getting buy-in from the other side and are familiar and comfortable with leading the joint scene investigation itself.
Sometimes the matters that we consult on involve either all documents, or mainly documents, and physical evidence and testing is not permissible or is not the focus. HG Cornerstone has both the engineering design and construction field experience to competently perform forensic documents review.
This may include the review of:
HG Cornerstone has also worked with building products manufacturers on liability matters that involved product literature such as:
Involving an expert who possesses vast documents review experience is critical in order to secure a successful outcome.
HG Cornerstone has nationwide access to the most advanced and comprehensive laboratory testing facilitates. This means we can analyze or test virtually any construction or building material, component, product or equipment. We also offer accident reconstruction and environmental testing and analyses.
HG Cornerstone works with key forensic laboratories, analytical laboratories and test facilities on a project-by-project basis, including the following:
At the MIT Materials Laboratory, a great deal of testing on building products and construction materials can be performed. HG Cornerstone has worked with the MIT Materials Laboratory to perform metallurgical evaluations involving low-resolution binocular microscope examination and image capturing, high-resolution and 3-D HiROX microscope examination and image capturing, the preparation of metallographic mounts, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) examination, and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX). These methods allow us to evaluate the failure of metal alloys such as steel and brass involving cracking, strain and corrosion.
The IAPMO Research and Testing (R&T) Lab is a trusted name for independent testing, research, and technical services in the plumbing and mechanical industries. A wide variety of testing can be performed here on virtually any plumbing or mechanical device or component. HG Cornerstone has utilized the IAPMO R&T Lab to perform function testing on plumbing components including Automatic Control Valves (ACVs), water pressure regulators and fittings.
The IAPMO Institute of Building Technology (IBT) is a trusted name for independent testing, research, and technical services in the construction products industry. IAPMO IBT is capable of testing a wide variety of products for the construction industry. By working with the IAPMO IBT, HG Cornerstone can develop and implement custom test procedures for various physical properties, including strength and endurance, of virtually any construction material or building product.
By working with various independent physical testing laboratories on a nationwide basis, HG Cornerstone can implement custom testing for various standardized physical properties on samples of virtually any construction material including concrete, block, brick, mortar, asphalt, steel, rebar, polymers, soil parameters, and others.
By working with various independent chemical analytical laboratories on a nationwide basis, HG Cornerstone can implement custom testing for various chemical properties, and chemical component makeup, of virtually any construction material or environmental sample.
The types of insurance claims and litigation that we can competently consult on are numerous. This is due to our extensive, combined construction and engineering experience, spanning over 30 years.
Areas of specialty involving our forensic engineering services include:
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