Forensic experts are asked to provide testimony concerning technical issues in disputes involving construction failures, construction defects and professional negligence. Among the most critical of the areas of testimony, certainly from the perspective of an engineer defendant, is the presentation of opinion concerning the “standard of care” and whether a defendant met that level of performance. The evaluation of an engineer’s performance, the definition of the duty the defendant owed the plaintiff, and the comparison of the defendant’s performance with that “standard” are all questions of fact addressable by an expert witness.Those questions of fact have to be answered by the judge or jury to determine whether the defendant engineer was professionally negligent and therefore liable for damages.

 

Expert testimony based on invalid and unreliable methods not only does a defendant engineer disservice, its admissibility also may be challenged in court. This Westcon presentation will discuss the validity and reliability of methods expert witnesses use in support of their testimony concerning the standard of care, and will include examples of such testimony.

 

Josh Kardon is a long time Westcon member. His firm, Joshua B. Kardon + Company has been in continuous practice in Berkeley since 1978. His expertise is in structural engineering design, investigation, failure analysis, consultation and construction engineering and observation for concrete steel, timber, and masonry structures.