Case Studies in Forensic Geotechnical and Foundation Engineering

Forensics in the geo-domain encompasses an extensive array of topics with specific emphasis in geotechnical related fields. A new discipline known as forensic geotechnical engineering (FGE) has been created to deal with investigations of soil-interaction related failures of engineered facilities or structures. A practicing geotechnical engineer cannot provide services without the fear of a lawsuit. Services of geotechnical engineers experienced in jurisprudence system are commissioned to investigate such failures. This paper presents two case histories where forensic geotechnical engineering was effectively utilized to identify, investigate, and remediate the problem as well assist in litigation. The first case history identifies a request from an office building owner for a forensic geotechnical engineering review of an extensive distress settlement cracking claim. The claim resulted in discovery of a relic sinkhole with neither collapse nor an injury combined with deficient foundation and slab design. The second case history illustrates how a forensic geotechnical investigation was undertaken to identify causative factors of the slope failure and to address the extent of damage. In both cases, the project owner(s) were able to recover a major portion of the loss and litigation cost from the insurance company