Saturday, July 25, 2026

Pasadena Expert-Witness Firm Opens Free Consultations to Wildfire Survivors

[Eddie Rivera / Pasadena Now]

Supervisor Janice Hahn’s motion passed unanimously, but the new seat still needs approval from lawmakers in Sacramento

A Pasadena-based expert-witness firm says it has broadened a free consultation program to people recovering from last year’s Los Angeles wildfires.

ForensisGroup connects attorneys, insurers and other organizations with engineering and technical experts.

The firm said it traditionally offers one-hour consultations across all specialties to legal and institutional clients but extended the offer to wildfire survivors so locals could get technical guidance related to their recovery.

According to the firm, many of the technical questions tied to that kind of rebuilding — including structural integrity, fire damage, soil stability, environmental contamination, utility infrastructure, construction methods and insurance coverage only began to surface as reconstruction picked up pace.

In its statement, ForensisGroup said that construction disputes are frequently more complicated than they first appear and often require several engineering disciplines to determine what went wrong.

A claim that begins with a cracked foundation, water intrusion, structural movement, a code-compliance question or a material failure, the company said, can expand into an investigation drawing on structural, civil, geotechnical, mechanical, electrical or materials engineers, as well as architects, construction managers, building-code specialists and cost estimators.

The company also said construction problems often take months or years to become apparent, meaning litigation can require reconstructing events long after the original work was done. On that basis, it said, it urges attorneys to involve experts early during case evaluation rather than at discovery, mediation or trial preparation.

ForensisGroup describes itself as “The Expert of Experts.” It says it has maintained a network now spanning more than 3,000 areas of expertise, and has supported more than 20,000 clients in over 30,000 cases since it opened in 1991.

More information is available at https://www.forensisgroup.com/.