Expert witnesses - forensic engineers

Forensic Science is a profession that is well known in connection with criminal cases. It is less well known that the forensic scientists have an engineering counterpart, the forensic engineer who assists in criminal and civil cases that involve some aspects of engineering. Although anyone with some special expertise may act as an expert witness, a forensic engineer is an engineer who is not only a specialist in particular branches of engineering, but also specialises in investigating, reporting and giving evidence in engineering matters in legal disputes. This paper describes the work of the engineering expert witness or forensic engineer and shows when and where one might need such an expert when a dispute arises. Case studies in civil and criminal actions are presented.