Fire Expert Witness & Legal Services

How We Support Legal Matters  – Expert Reports, Conclaves, Court Testimony

Expert witness services are required in legal matters to assist the Court in making informed decisions. The role of the expert witness is integral to providing the Court with the technical knowledge required to resolve disputes.

Lawyers seek the expertise of professionals to provide their expert knowledge and specialised insights to help the court understand the technical aspects of a case.

Expert witnesses are held to high expectations due to their exceptional technical knowledge and are expected to form their own conclusions. Their opinion must be without bias and based solely on verifiable facts.

We are trained and experienced in providing special expert opinion in building defects, combustible cladding and other construction and compliance matters. This includes providing fire safety expert reports, responding to other fire engineering reports, participation in conclaves and attending Court hearings.

We assist lawyers, barristers, insurers and expert panels with clear, unbiased interpretation of fire safety and compliance evidence.

We adhere to the Code of Conduct and confidentiality requirements when it comes to litigation and expert reports.

Types of litigation matters we have been engaged in

Below is a list of type of litigation matters we have been involved in:

• Building compliance & regulatory assessment
• Combustible cladding compliance (claims against building certifiers, builders, façade consultants and fire safety engineers)
• Construction defects assessments (claims against builders under the HBA)
• Design disputes and litigation
• Fire investigation & cause analysis
• Claims regarding installing incorrect products
• Claims regarding certifying of buildings in Bushfire-affected areas
• Insurance & liability investigations
• Post-fire investigation insurance claims
• Identification of responsibilities regarding fire safety maintenance (landlord or lessee)
• NDIS appeal matters

Size of litigation matters

We have experience in a variety of litigation matters. Building types include residential dwellings, commercial high-rises, factories, restaurants, retail stores, and government buildings. Building sizes range from small stores to large mixed-use building complexes Claims range between $2M to $750M.

Who retained us

We have been retained by developers, builders, body corporates, certifiers, fire safety engineers and facade consultants on over 70 matters.

In regard to Fire Safety Expert Witness services, we have been engaged by firms including:

Did any of the cases go to judgment, or were reported?

At this time, all cases are in various stages of completion and are not publicly available or have settled out of Court.