Thus, forensic engineers must work in both the engineering and legal arenas. From an engineering perspective, forensic engineering deals with the investigation and reconstruction of failures in buildings, structures, vehicles, and other engineered systems. From the legal perspective, forensic engineering is a fact-finding mission to determine the most probable cause or causes of a failure and the party or parties responsible. Forensic engineering requires both scientific skills and high ethical standards. Forensic engineers must be expert in their field and impartial in the investigation process.
Analytical skills are essential.
When required to serve as an expert witness, the forensic engineer must be qualified by the court. Because the American jurisprudence system is adversarial, forensic engineers are subjected to critical and often stressful cross-examination situations. Therefore, all engineers are not suited for forensic engineering. Some serve only as specialists, leaving the origin and cause determination to others. For example, an electrical engineer may specialize in fires of an electrical origin, while a mechanical engineer may specialize in gas fires and explosions.