Gathering Expert Evidence in Property Damage Cases
Gathering evidence in property damage cases…
When you suffer a loss to commercial, industrial or residential property, you will probably send out a tradesperson to see what’s wrong and fix the problem. That‘s right. No question.
But when you or your client seeks to recover loss (and I mean ask for payment that may become litigation) from a:
- builder / building practitioner; or
- insurer; or
- neighbour; or
- council or water authority; or
- other professional like agent, architect or insurance broker, strata manager etc…
You need to behave like you will rely on it in Court otherwise how do you establish liability.
You need:
- independent expert evidence;
- that objectively defines the proximate cause;
- with sound reasoning. Like what, how and why the event giving rise to the loss occurred AND causation.
Let me put it another way, you wouldn’t get a plumber to fix your electrical work. Don’t get a tradesperson to try to substantiate expert court work.
You can’t hold a party liable without evidence and ‘expert opinion’ is evidence!
And let me just dispel a myth, you don’t get expert evidence because you’re ready to go to court, you get expert evidence first and then decide to go to court.
Expert evidence is everything when it comes to property damage, building claims and professional liability in these areas!
If you can’t prove it clearly and with reliable expert opinion - you don’t have a real claim.
What’s my point?
My point is this, the local trades person, many leak detection experts and others probably have no experience giving evidence in court or Tribunal. So how will they get it right?
Plus, how evidence is gathered is absolutely critical.
Don’t assume just because you’re a professional in property or building that you can source evidence like a lawyer. Instruction letters, further instructions, assumptions and other information are absolutely critical to get right in property damage cases.
Expert evidence is a specialist field, selecting an expert requires specialist lexpertise.
If you’re running a case or a client is running a case off the back of general trade opinion be very careful. Australian courts award costs for unsuccessful claims.
Sure you can hold your head in the air and say “but such and such said so”.
Remember, when it comes to expert opinion, it’s just like an opinion generally, everyone’s got one.
You need the best one both independent and reliably sourced and expertise that is exact for your case.
If you’ve got a case like this reach out, let’s talk expert evidence. Remember good decisions are made off the back of good information.
This article is a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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