Land Development Experts

Large scale land development projects are transformative. Engineers and construction crews reshaping the earth commonly encounter complications or professional missteps that can result in project delays, cost overruns, civil penalties, or injuries.

Robson Forensic has experienced civil engineers and construction experts, specializing in land development, who frequently investigate cases involving earthwork, transportation and stormwater infrastructure, environmental impacts, and water treatment issues.

Land Development Expert Investigations

Site Construction, also commonly referred to as “Civil” or “Heavy” Construction, requires a developer to navigate a complex landscape of planning, entitlements and approvals, design development, and permitting processes.

Design and/or construction missteps along this process can result in construction defects, damage, injuries, adverse environmental impacts, and/or significant schedule delays, financial losses and exposure.

Land development claims include:

• Constructability, and contractor means and methods
• Protection of existing facilities, adjacent structures and public safety
• Environmental (e.g. threatened and endangered species; wetlands; control of erosion, sediment transport, and dust; stormwater management, flooding, etc.)
• Sustainability and climate change considerations
• Archaeological and historical sites
• Technical requirements and civil engineering standards
• Geotechnical, geological, and hydrogeological conditions
• Existing subsurface utilities and infrastructure
• Infrastructure requirements and availability
• Engineer and contractor Standards of Care

Construction Safety Disputes

Land development projects are vulnerable to the construction workplace hazards identified by organizations such as OSHA and NIOSH, including trench collapses, struck-by and caught-in or between equipment incidents, falls, electrical shock injuries. Construction and demolition operations must consider and reasonably mitigate foreseeable hazards to workers, the public and adjacent property.

Specific hazards relevant to land development/site/civil construction disputes include:

• Structural overload or collapse
• Trenches and excavations
• Existing underground utilities
• Haul routes
• Slopes and embankments
• Stormwater Management Systems (drowning and flooding)
• Construction vehicle incidents
• Falling objects and Falls from heights
• Noise and vibration
• Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT)
• Confined spaces

When an injury or death occurs as part of a construction project, our experts are frequently retained to determine how the incident happened and why it occurred. In the course of our investigations we evaluate the actions of the injured worker, their employer, other entities on the site, and the equipment and machinery involved.

Our experts are qualified by way of their training, education, and experience; they are degreed civil engineers with decades of experience on construction sites.

Construction Evidence & Testing

Robson Forensic offers a fully appointed laboratory to assist where casework requires the testing or inspection of construction materials, products, or equipment. Our lab facilities can accommodate large evidence items and are equipped to perform testing on a variety of electrical and mechanical devices.

Visit our Mechanical Testing Laboratory page for more information.