For these projects, information about materials behavior is used to provide a basis for engineering evaluations of the products or manufacturing processes. These data can be derived from the existing technical literature or from specialized tests developed specifically for the application under review. These disputes typically arise when a product or structure fails to perform as expected and causes a loss to one of the parties. Forensic engineering is practiced for insurance companies evaluating claims for payment or subrogation and for attorneys pleading or defending product liability law suits. Engineering evaluation determines the cause or causes of the failure to help assign liability for the damages.
Most failures involve materials damage of some sort.
Therefore, materials engineering is often an integral aspect of forensic engineering investigations. Evaluation of the materials behavior using standard failure analysis practices typically identifies the failure mode, and this information, on its own or in combination with other engineering evaluations, leads to determination of the root cause and liability. The special skills required for forensic engineering is the ability of the analyst to break down the technical issues for interpretation by non-technical people, such as attorneys agents, judges, and juries. The staff at MEE has been involved with a wide variety of product liability cases. Our laboratory facilities offer most of the analytical capabilities required for forensic engineering projects.