CHARLES DEGRAFF LAND SURVEYOR

Surveying Services for Southwest Florida

FORENSIC SURVEYING

Forensic Surveying is the art of measuring and depicting the geometric facts of a site where some incident has occurred to cause a claim to be made against companies or individuals who through their actions directly or indirectly were responsible for that incident. The surveying in Forensic Surveying is the skill of the surveyor, using modern surveying tools, to locate and map the site. The art in Forensic Surveying is determining what at the site is important to map and why.

Charles DeGraff Land Surveyor‘s area of expertise is highway and bridge construction. Major road and bridge projects are very complex and the responsibilities put on the contractor and engineer are challenging. The engineer must design the project within legal guidelines following accepted engineering practices. The contractor must build the project in accordance with the plans and specifications. During all of this the safety of the public and workers must be preserved. The engineer has further responsibility during construction to inspect and insure the project is being built to plan specifications. When any part of this process goes wrong an accident, failure, delay or some other incident can happen to cause one party to make claim against another. The engineers, contractors and government are a tight nit community that many times results in difficulty establishing blame in construction accidents and other claim cases. Charles DeGraff Land Surveyor has been involved with major road and bridge projects for over twenty-five years. We not only have the surveying skills to map the incident site but also have the construction knowledge of required specifications and rules like the FDOT Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction, Standard Indexes and the MUTCD.
An example of some specific maintenance of traffic deficiencies Forensic Surveying can document are:

1. Wrong geometry on roadways in curves and detours
2. Improper barricade and warning sign spacing or location
3. Out of specification supper elevation transitions, roadway drop-offs, irregular pavement and wrong lane widths
4. Drainage problems and standing water
5. Equipment or objects in the clear zone

Sometimes claims arise when formwork or equipment fails to function properly (see picture to right). The construction might get built just fine but in the wrong location. These problems can result from design errors or often from contractor blunders. Forensic Surveying can help provide the information to sort out these problems. If there is a clear answer to a problem a settlement is more likely.
In claims that arise out of quantity disputes Forensic Surveying can help by documenting and certifying as-built quantities for comparison with plan quantities. A common example is earthwork quantity disputes. Charles DeGraff Land Surveyor uses several methods for computing earthwork including the FDOT’s own Multi-line Earthwork program. Any quantity that is measured and based on as-built geometry is applicable for survey verification.
If you have a construction related claim that would possibly benefit from Forensic Survey contact us. We can help. We’re always available to consult with you about your Construction Surveying requirements. Click the link to contact us, fill out the Order Form or call (239) 699-8572.