Service
Expert Witness &
Litigation Support
Fortis forensic engineering findings and PE-sealed reports are available to support legal proceedings involving building condition, structural distress or compliance disputes.
- Verification
- Sealed by a licensed Florida PE, to The Fortis Standard
- Updated
- September 4, 2026
Case Caption
Matter Types
Building condition · Structural distress · Compliance disputes
Jurisdiction
Broward · Miami-Dade · Palm Beach
Engineer Of Record
The assessing Fortis PE
Deliverable
PE-sealed forensic report
The Direct Answer
How Does Fortis Support Litigation?
Fortis BuildSafe Solutions supports litigation with forensic engineering findings and PE-sealed reports on building condition, structural distress and compliance disputes. Testimony or consultation from the assessing engineer of record can be arranged when the firm is engaged for that purpose, so the intended use is agreed at engagement.
The File
What Is Available To Counsel?
The Engineering Record
Forensic findings and PE-sealed reports addressing building condition, structural distress or compliance disputes. The reports are written to be read by people who were not on site, which is the same discipline a proceeding requires.
Every Fortis field observation is photographed, located and dated when it is made, and the reasoning from observation to conclusion is written out in the report. That chain is what allows a finding to be examined by opposing counsel, an insurer or a court years later.
Who Can Testify
Testimony or consultation from the assessing engineer of record can be arranged when the firm is engaged for that purpose, to the Fortis Standard.
Which Matters This Covers
Proceedings that turn on building condition, structural distress or compliance disputes. Where the underlying question is what caused a failure, the work begins as a forensic investigation and the litigation engagement follows from its record.
Where the matter concerns the documented condition of a whole building rather than one failure, a building condition survey establishes that record. Counsel should state the intended use so the scope is set accordingly.
Litigation support is scoped separately from the underlying inspection: document review, site inspection, a written expert report, deposition and trial testimony are each defined in the engagement letter with the hourly basis and retainer stated before work begins. Counsel receives the assessing engineer’s curriculum vitae and licence information on request.
Chain Of Record
From Site Visit To Sworn Testimony
Inspection
Field observation performed to the Fortis Standard, documented as it is made.
Documentation
Photographs, measurements and field observations preserved against the observation date.
PE-Sealed Report
Findings written to be read by people who were never on site, then sealed.
Testimony
Consultation or testimony by the assessing engineer when the firm is engaged for it.
Coverage
Fortis works with owners, associations and counsel on buildings across Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach.
Questions
Common Litigation Support Questions, Answered
What litigation support does Fortis provide?
Fortis’s forensic engineering findings and PE-sealed reports are available to support legal proceedings involving building condition, structural distress or compliance disputes.
Can the engineer testify?
Testimony or consultation from the assessing engineer of record can be arranged when the firm is engaged for that purpose. It is agreed as part of the engagement rather than assumed after the fact.
Does an existing Fortis report cover litigation use?
A sealed report stands on its own record, but testimony and litigation consultation are a separate engagement. Counsel or the board should raise the intended use so the scope is set accordingly.
What matters does Fortis support?
Construction-defect and restoration disputes, building-condition and property-damage claims, insurance coverage disputes turning on cause of damage, and compliance disputes involving milestone inspection, recertification or reserve-study obligations.
Does Fortis work for owners, associations or insurers?
Fortis is engaged by counsel for owners, associations, insurers or contractors. The engineering conclusion is the same whoever engages the firm — the findings follow the evidence, which is what makes them useful in a proceeding.
Scope reference
Findings That Stand On Their Record
Forensic findings and PE-sealed reports are documented so the engineering basis can be examined by parties who were never on site.
Establish Where Your Building Stands
Send the property details and Fortis will confirm which requirement applies and provide a written scope before any fieldwork begins.