Areas served · New York
Forensic Engineering in New York City
In and around New York City
What we investigate in New York City
New York City holds the densest building stock in the country, and the losses we evaluate concentrate around coastal surge, aging pre-war masonry, facade failure, and electrical fire. We determine what actually failed and document it to a standard that holds, and a licensed engineer responds within 24 hours with no travel charges.
The conditions we see in New York City
Water off the harbor is the outsized natural threat. FEMA's National Risk Index models coastal flooding across the five boroughs, layered with Hudson riverine flooding and rising high-tide exposure. Superstorm Sandy proved the reach in October 2012: the storm surge crested at 13.88 feet above Mean Lower Low Water at The Battery, the highest ever recorded there, flooding Lower Manhattan streets, every East River road tunnel except the Lincoln, and the subway system.
The building stock carries its own exposure. About 60 percent of the city's roughly 3.7 million housing units predate 1940, and much of that is unreinforced-masonry rowhouses and tenements built from the 1860s through 1910 across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, sitting under mid-rises and modern towers. Facade condition is a named risk here: Local Law 11, the Facade Inspection Safety Program, requires every building over six stories to inspect its exterior walls every five years.
How we help in New York City
The evaluations New York City cases usually call for
- Masonry, facade, and structural evaluation
When a rowhouse wall cracks or a facade sheds material, the question is whether the cause is aged unreinforced masonry, water intrusion, differential settlement, or a construction defect. Our licensed engineers evaluate the structure and its condition together and document which one is responsible, to a standard that holds up in a claim or in court.
Our structural engineering services- Flood, surge, and construction-defect investigation
After surge or a coastal flood, we determine what the water did to a structure and whether the damage traces to the flood, a pre-existing condition, or a defect, and we investigate the component failures that surface in dense older stock. Each conclusion rests on the physical evidence at the property.
Our forensic engineering services
Fire origin & cause
Fire origin and cause in New York City
Electrical failures are a leading cause of building fires here, concentrated in the aging and overloaded wiring of pre-war Manhattan and Brooklyn stock, with cooking close behind. A newer driver sits on top: lithium-ion batteries, largely from e-bikes and e-scooters, ran 268 fires and 18 deaths in 2023 and 277 fires with 6 deaths in 2024 by FDNY reporting. In dense tenement and rowhouse buildings, shared walls and void spaces move fire fast and cloud where it began.
Our NAFI-certified investigators work every scene to NFPA 921. They examine the scene methodically, trace burn and char patterns back to the area of origin, evaluate the electrical and mechanical systems including any implicated battery or device, and rule out causes until the evidence supports one, accidental or incendiary. Reaching a high-rise or tenement scene early preserves evidence that overhaul and collapse destroy, and the same investigator documents the finding and testifies at deposition and trial.
Fires we investigate
- Residential and commercial fires
- Electrical and aging-wiring fires
- Lithium-ion battery and e-bike fires
- High-rise and tenement fires
- Vehicle fires
Common questions
Forensic engineering in New York City, New York
A different question about your case? An engineer, not a call center, answers within 24 hours.
Is a facade or masonry failure in New York City a defect or age?
It can be either. Much of the city's masonry is pre-war and unreinforced, and it cracks and sheds material as it ages, but water intrusion, settlement, and construction defects produce similar damage. We evaluate the wall, its condition, and the failure pattern before assigning a cause.
Can you tell surge or flood damage from a pre-existing condition?
Yes. Separating coastal surge and floodwater from prior deterioration or a defect is central to a New York City claim, and it is often the point the loss turns on. We base the conclusion on the physical evidence at the property.
Do you charge travel to reach New York City?
No. We work New York City-area cases from our Omaha lab and Los Angeles office with no travel charges, and a licensed engineer responds within 24 hours.
Have a loss that needs answers?
Tell us what happened. An engineer, not a call center, will review your case.