Welcome
Welcome and thank you for visiting my website. On my website's eight pages and drop down menus, you can learn about the civil engineering, forensic engineering and insurance investigative services I provide. This information can help you decide if I can determine the cause of your client's problems.
I specialize in civil, foundation and environmental engineering investigation - and the forensic engineering associated with these fields.
My forensic and consulting engineering work is based on 38 years engineering experience in eastern, western, and northern Canada, offshore Nova Scotia, the Beaufort Sea, and overseas in the Caribbean, the U.K. and Australia.
I practiced as a provincial land surveyor on Prince Edward Island, Canada before studying and practicing civil and forensic engineering.
Website Overview
The contents of my website’s pages are briefly described below:
My Biography page gives a very brief outline of my
qualifications in engineering including degrees in civil engineering, a
diploma in land surveying, my continuing education interests and the
38 years consulting engineering experience I now have working in Canada
and overseas
The pages – Forensic, Civil and Environment, are the main
fields in which I practice. There is a lot of information on each of these
pages, particularly the Forensic page.
Each page outlines the services I provide in these fields then gives examples of typical projects and cases. You can quickly link to the case category of particular interest to you, for example, Flooding and Drainage or Fatal Accidents.
A Guidelines page outlines the procedures I follow in doing my engineering work. Some of the guidelines are national or widely accepted standards. Others I developed because of the uniqueness of the problem, for example, the field testing shown in the photograph on the forensic page.
The Guidelines page also contains useful information on how I gather and synthesize evidence. Also how I analyse conclusions drawn from the evidence, formulate an opinion, critically evaluate the opinions of others and, finally, draft well-written, well-reasoned, impartial reports and opinions.
The procedure I follow in developing my opinion is outlined in a guideline I’ve developed entitled, “Writing Forensic Engineering Reports and Opinions”. The guideline incorporates the requirements of the recently introduced "Nova Scotia Rule 55 - Expert Opinions". Civil litigation lawyers have taken an interest in this guideline.
You can e-mail or telephone me from the Contact page if you would like additional information, my CV, for example, or would like to discuss a case you are presently working on.
The Fees page contains a schedule of the fees I charge for my consulting professional engineering work. My fees are comparable to those charged by other consultants in eastern Canada and elsewhere in North America.
Outline: Consulting Engineering Services
The following is a brief outline of the consulting engineering services I provide:
Forensic Engineering Investigative Services
A. Preliminary Forensic Engineering Services- Evaluate the technical strengths, weaknesses and merits of a proposed claim for damages based on existing data and information,
- Independent peer review of forensic investigations, reports and opinions by others,
- Outline scope of a thorough forensic engineering investigation of the problem.
B. Detailed Forensic Engineering Services
- Forensic engineering and insurance investigation of the cause of an engineering failure, property damage or poor performance of an existing building or civil engineering structure,
- Forensic investigation of the cause of slip and fall, traffic, commercial or industrial accidents causing property damage, injury or death,
- Identify and analyse evidence and develop an opinion on the cause of an engineering failure or accident,
- Draft report on the investigation and opinion of cause,
- Evaluate, design and direct remedial work, and estimate the cost of damages,
C. Additional Forensic Engineering Services
- Assist counsel finalize evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of a claim for damages based on the findings of a detailed forensic engineering investigation,
- Develop lines of questioning for testimony and cross-examination at discovery and trial,
- Attend discovery and trial, assist counsel identify evidence, discrepancies, contradictions and errors in testimony of opposing witnesses and experts; develop additional lines of questioning,
- Testify as an expert witness at discovery and trial,
- Review and audit civil engineering investigations and environmental impact assessments by others,
- Dispute resolution.
I retain specialists in other fields according to the requirements of a civil or forensic investigation. Most recently these specialists have included two structural engineers, a hydrologist, a chemist, a metallurgist, a metal detectorist, and land surveyors.
The evidence and technical data from the investigations assists in the resolution of disputes, civil litigation and insurance claims that arise from engineering failures, traffic accidents, and industrial accidents.
Civil Engineering Investigative Services
- Investigate foundation, soil and groundwater conditions at sites proposed for design and construction of new buildings and civil engineering structures,
- Characterize foundation soil conditions underlying proposed construction sites,
- Identify suitable foundations to support buildings and civil engineering structures at construction sites,
- Determine foundation design parameters.
Environmental Engineering Services
- Environmental impact assessments of sites proposed for construction,
- Phase I and II environmental site assessments for transfer of title and potential contamination,
- Clean-up and remediation of contaminated sites.
Thank you for reading my website’s Home Page. The information on these pages should help you decide if I can solve your client’s problem. I have quite a few years of civil engineering experience – 38 years, and I’m confident this experience will be quite valuable to you. Please view my Biography Page for more information.
Civil, Geotechnical, Foundation and Environmental Engineers
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
Sailboat image courtesy of J. Knoll.
