Expert Witness
Our principals are often called upon to function as the neutral or independent consultant in large litigation cases. As an expert witness, we carry out detailed geotechnical investigations in order to determine the type and extent of damage, and the likely contributing causes of damage.
In many cases, CSA is asked to design engineering solutions and provide construction cost estimates to repair the damage. We have been successful in assisting the court in a large number of cases where geotechnical issues have been identified as the probable cause of failure.
Mr. Patrick O. Shires, CSA’s Senior Principal Geotechnical Engineer and Geophysicist, has testified at over 83 trials and has provided more than 205 depositions for trials and arbitrations in California, Hawaii and Illinois. Mr. Shires has served as an expert for the State of California, the United States Federal Government and numerous private law firms, homeowners associations and individuals.
CSA’s services for Expert Witness include preparation of expert reports, affidavits, and trial exhibits, forensic analysis and cost allocation analysis as well as deposition preparation for opposing experts and settlement negotiations. Our particular areas of expertise include the following:
- Landslides
- Earthquake Damages
- Expansive Soil/Rock Distress
- Water and Mold Damages
- Levee Stability
- Coastal Bluff Retreat
- Debris Flows and Mud Slides
- Subsurface Leakage and Flow Paths
- Concrete Vapor Transmission
- Pipeline Rupture
- Rock Fall
- Earth Movement Causation
- Foundation Distress
- Mitigation Design
- Mitigation Construction Cost Estimates