Projects often experience disruptions and changes in schedule, affecting both owners and construction teams. Delay claims occur when the planned duration of the project is extended, while disruption claims occur when the contractor’s productivity is negatively impacted, resulting in loss of efficiency. Acceleration claims occur when an owner advances a scheduled completion date. In both cases, these changes to schedule can have significant impacts on cost for the affected party. To resolve the claim, our team takes careful steps to objectively analyze the situation, identify the underlying cause, determine liability and quantify impact.

Though small changes in scope should be accounted for in project contracts, multiple changes or large-scale adjustments can have a significant impact on cost and schedule. We provide support for both constructive changes and owner-directed changes, helping teams identify the precise cost and time effects changes to scope had on the success of the project – and its bottom line.

In an ideal scenario, every project is completed as planned and is free of design and construction defects one hundred percent of the time. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Design and construction defect cases can involve damage claims including cost to repair the defective work, cost to undertake repair work to existing conditions in order to access and remediate the defective work, cost to protect the project from further damage caused by the defect, and cost of loss of use.  In any of those cases, our experts determine the financial impact of remedying the situation.

Severely delayed or missed payments can have a domino effect on a project, leaving contractors unable to compensate employees and subcontractors, purchase materials and resources, and complete their project effectively. Alternatively, contractors or subcontractors may be overbilling and overstating their progress, potentially resulting in the project running out of budget before completion. Regardless of the scenario, a decision to withhold payment may result in a payment dispute. Our experts help owners, contractors and subcontractors analyze and validate payment applications, determine a reasonable percent complete, and quantify payment amounts due or owed with the goal of assisting the parties in preventing or resolving payment claims.

Construction contracts may be terminated for a range of reasons, including poor quality of work, delayed or nonpayment by the project owner, lack of communication, and more. Regardless of cause, it is important to ensure the contract is correctly and legally terminated. If the proper steps are not followed, or the contract is terminated wrongfully, the other party may sue for breach of contract. Our experts support the affected party in assessing the project and causes of termination, identifying the overall impact on time and cost of the project.

Insurance companies act to provide damage assessment and estimated cost of repairs when presented with a property loss claim. Disagreements on the cost of repairs between the parties often happen. When this occurs, insurance companies, law firms, owners or contractors engage our experts to ensure the proper work scopes are generated and an accurate assessment of the damages and cost of repairs is performed. Our team has the expertise to review the cost of repairs, whether incurred or projected, to determine if the costs are reasonable and properly substantiated. In addition, we specialize in preparing independent cost estimates to accurately project the reasonable cost to bring your facility to pre-existing conditions. Our experts have helped law firms, carriers, owners, and contractors throughout the insurance claim process with the goal of achieving a fair settlement and have extensive experience in preparing comprehensive technical reports and providing expert witness testimony.

Tort claims may include cases of fraud, misrepresentation, negligence, or tortious interference with contractual or business relationships. Though many construction contracts are written to prevent tort claims between primary parties, they do not protect third parties. Notably, contractors may bring tort claims against design professionals when they believe duty of care was not met. Our team considers all aspects of the case, including existing contracts and limitations of damages, type of damage, and responsibility for damage to provide counsel and resolve the claim.

In all claims, it is crucial to first understand the exact nature of damages and accurately quantify their cost. To do so, our experts conduct a deep evaluation of all information and documents including the project contract, schedules, bid, change orders, job logs, and notes, among other evidence. This detailed audit allows us to determine the precise causal relationship between damages and events and, subsequently, provide a recommendation for reimbursement. 

While claims management may seem daunting, understanding tools and techniques for analysis can help keep your project progressing smoothly and ensure you understand your options should a dispute arise. As part of our Claims Management Training, we cover topics such as:

• Claims Avoidance Training
• Claim Submission Components Training
• Forensic Schedule Analysis Methods Training
• Post Construction Time Impact Analysis Training 
• As-Built Schedule Training
• “Windows” Analysis Training
• Project Records Management Training
• As-Built Critical Path Determinations Training
• Delay Analysis & Inefficiency Analysis Training