Construction Expert
Construction Expert Witnesses are essential members of mediation and litigation industries. We work with a range of clients, plaintiffs and defendants, to facilitate objective, expert reporting and testimony. That includes construction accidents, construction defects, construction schedule disruption delays, product defects, and standard of care.
Derek Graham has been a member of the building industry since 1982, when he began as a laborer, working his way through to executive positions. He has served as an expert, since, 2009, and has provided expert opinions in all of the above litigation scenarios. Graham makes for a superior expert because of his 35 years in the industry, but also because he is an ‘expert” expert, or a witness with eloquent and articulate reporting and testimony strengths that make for compelling arguments, and swift settlements.
RepOne President Derek Graham is construction expert serving the Tri-State area, as well as cities across the United States. Graham has provided expert reports and testimony in disputes as varied as construction defect, delays & disruptions, construction accidents, standard of care, and product defects, in several states, as well as many Federal case. Most of these cases were settled, at least in part, if not fully owing to his stellar work, that has proven impervious to other expert rebuttals.
Drawing from his background in British Literature, Graham is meticulous in his methodology of determining cause and effect, and rendering technical narratives that refute cross-examination. He’s an Expert Witness who knows the ropes of the court systems – specifically, the art of being deposed or testifying. That is why he has never been on the losing side of a case, never been seriously challenged by an opposing expert, and never precluded from testifying.
Some 95% of all building projects will fail to meet their budget, and some 75-90% fail to meet contract deadline. In some states, their are liquidated damages for such delays. The building industry bears the brunt of the burden of disruption, without being compensated. This is owing in part to an inability to generate a compelling EOT or delay claim.
Construction expert witness Graham’s British Literature background enables him to exercise his critical insight in complex construction litigation by presenting professionally written, and concise technical reports and executive summaries, and providing compelling arguments with eloquent testimony and rebuttal.
“Be objective: This is the criteria that he sets store by and is also the standard by which he bases his findings and arguments, which are recorded in articulate reports, argued in arbitration and mediation proceedings, and related in compelling, eloquent testimony. His arguments are studied, confident, and technically savvy, but also user friendly to the lay person – this from years of hands-on field and administrative experience with diverse projects, and many client relationships and interactions.”
Construction defects in large scale building and non-building are big-risk factors in the industry, especially when they escape notice or otherwise fail to be remediated. There are patent defects, latent defects, and very often both. Having an understanding of the mechanics and way different elements are intended tor designed to be correctly installed empowers one with the insight to both identify and prevent such defects before or as they occur. Often there is no consensus as to blame or responsibility, and a complaint is filed.
Attorneys who specialize in construction law have a leg up on their adversaries who don’t. It’s therefore especially prudent to negotiate safe and equitable agreements that are risk free. Breach is a risk chiefly held by builders, who either don’t complete, complete very late, or don’t complete at all. Breach is the most common complaint against a builder, however, it is observed all contractual parties have responsibilities that are often breached.
Just as Breach of Contract is applicable to all contractual parties, so is standard of care, Like Breach, standard of care is typically associated with a builder, however, it is just as common against feckless designers.
Like construction defects, product defects may be either patent or latent. That distinction will determine who holds the warranty or responsibility for the product. Rep1 expertise is not limited to building products, but to furniture, fixtures and equipment, and accessories.
Graham has an interesting perspective toward his work. He states in his book, Managing Residential Construction Projects, published by McGraw-Hill, in 2006:
Construction expert witness Graham’s British Literature background enables him to exercise his critical insight in complex construction litigation by presenting professionally written, and concise technical reports and executive summaries, and providing compelling arguments with eloquent testimony and rebuttal.
“Some measure of failure seems to attend nearly every project that is built. I have seen them fail every way possible, whether it can be attributed to the contractor, design team, owner, or all parties. Typically, such failures tend not to be unilateral, and that notion colors many construction cases with a complex set of circumstances. It takes a critical eye to see through the endless obfuscations that cloud truth.
