SPC Engineering provides expert witness services in the fields of geotechnical, civil, and environmental engineering, and represents Plaintiffs, defendants, and third-party defendants in civil litigation matters. We have provided expert witness services in over 500 civil litigation cases, and regularly attend Mediations, Arbitrations, and provide expert witness testimony in deposition and trial.
Professional Experience
Geotechnical issues that are typically evaluated are:
- Subsidence
- Expansive soils
- Corrosive soils
- Retaining wall failures
- Slope movement
- Construction vibrations
- Earthquake damage
- Liquefaction
Civil engineering issues are related to determining concrete quality, design and performance, drainage and water intrusion, and asphalt pavement design and performance. Some of these issues include:
- Concrete cracking
- Concrete corrosion
- Efflorescence
- Sulfate attack
- Reactive aggregate
- Pavement distress
- Drainage
- Water intrusion
- Analyses of water consumption records
- Analyses of rainfall records
- Surveying
Failure Analyses
In addition to geotechnical and civil, our expertise in forensic engineering includes:
- Recognition, documentation, and evaluation of structural damage (distress)
- Damage causation
- Timing of damage occurrence
- Determining likelihood of on-going civil/geotechnical/geological influences
- Evaluating site performance and potential future problems
- Investigating design/construction-related defects
- Monitoring movement of soils and foundations
- Alternative mitigation designs and recommended options for a best-fit solution
Client Representation
SPC has represented both Plaintiffs and defendants in forensic engineering projects. Various trades that have been represented by our company include:
- Asphalt contractors
- Civil engineers
- Concrete contractors
- Concrete suppliers
- Construction companies
- Developers
- Equipment operators
- Finish grading contractors
- Framers
- General contractors
- Geotechnical engineers
- Governmental agencies
- Homeowners
- Homeowners associations
- Insurance companies
- Landscape architects
- Landscape contractors
- Masonry contractors
- Moisture proofing contractors
- Paving contractors
- Plumbing contractors
- Real estate agents
- Rough grading contractors
- Surveyors
- Utility line contractors
Forensic Testing
Forensic testing is performed as needed to evaluate the geotechnical or structural performance. Types of forensic testing include:
- Manometer surveying
- Concrete/asphalt coring
- Soil boring and laboratory testing
- Inclinometer installation and monitoring
- Piezometer installing and monitoring
Court Exhibits
SPC's graphics department is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and software to produce site plans, graphics, models, and court exhibits. Using the latest technology, we are able to create a variety of visualizations such as vector/raster overlays, contour maps, and 3-D models. Our graphics are prepared either for phases of design or to convey our analyses in a manner that easily understood by non-experts.