Mechanical forensics services involve the investigation and analysis of mechanical systems, components, and structures to determine the cause of a failure, malfunction, or accident. As experts in mechanical failure and accident investigation, Specialized Testing and Forensic Laboratory (aka SpecTest Forensics) uses results to improve safety, and as evidence for legal and insurance purposes. Thus, our primary objective is to determine and understand the cause of a failure, assess the extent of damage, and to provide evidence for legal or insurance claims.

Law firms, insurance companies, municipalities, law enforcement, corporations and manufacturers benefit from partnering with a mechanical failure expert like SpecTest Forensics. We join joint investigations of issues that affects the legal, financial, or operational outcome of a court case or liability claim. Proactively hiring SpecTest Forensics helps improve your credibility, reputation, and trustworthiness. How? Partnering with us shows a willingness to cooperate, collaborate, and seek the truth. Furthermore, our services save money, time, and resources by finding effective and efficient ways to resolve a problem or issue. Contact Us to schedule an initial consultation.

Failure analysis is a forensic service where we investigate and test to determine the reasons or cause behind a failure. Failure can be caused by a design flaw, material defect, or operational error. Furthermore, the process involves data collection, visual inspection, non-destructive testing (NDT), fractography, material analysis, and other scientific methods to reach a conclusion. Read more >

Consumer Product Testing is a proactive service. It focuses on verifying that a product meets quality, performance, and safety standards before it is released to the market. Alternately, Failure Analysis is generally a post-accident process.  However, both processes are crucial for ensuring the overall quality and reliability of products but are applied at different times and for different purposes.

Non-Destructive Testing, or NDT, is the process of inspection and examination of a component without causing any further damage. Our NDT techniques include X-ray, ultrasound, and magnetic particle inspection.

We analyze material properties and composition using metallography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and spectroscopy. Moreover, SpecTest Forensics conduct tests to measure the mechanical properties of a material including tensile strength, hardness, and toughness.

At SpecTest Forensics we combine our years of experience in engineering, physics, and forensic science to first understand the how and why an accident occurred. Then, we determine the contributing factors. And thrdly, we provide evidence for legal or insurance purposes. Our crash reconstruction process includes data collection, scene and vehicle examination, analysis of speed, time/distance, combined with computer simulations to visualize the sequence of events and test different scenarios. Together this information allows us to reach informed conclusions critical for understanding why and how an accident occurred. Lastly, we provide technical report documentation and expert testimony for law enforcement, insurance companies, and legal professionals.

First, we reconstruct and provide expert testimony for motor vehicle and motorcycle accidents, as well as heavy truck and equipment accidents. Second, we reconstruct accidents involving recreational vehicle including off-road ATVs, boats, RVs, golf carts, lawn mowers. Finally, we reconstruct accidents involving workplace and industrial machinery as well as consumer products.

As a forensic tire expert we specialize in examination and analysis of tires and related evidence to understand their role in accidents or other incidents. We provide insights into how tires may have contributed to a particular event for use in legal cases, insurance investigations, accident reconstruction, and criminal investigations.

While Workman’s Comp is designed to protect workers, there are sometimes cases brought for fraudulent reasons. Jeff Hyatt and his team at Specialized Testing and Forensic Laboratory can partner with an insurance company, employer, or legal team to investigate workman’s comp claims. We help determine legitimacy using a process to determine the nature and cause of an accident or injury.

Machine safeguarding is a critical component of workplace safety. It protects workers from the dangers of operating and interacting with machinery. As a partner of SpecTest Forensics, your company can promote a culture of safety that proactively prevents injuries and reduces downtime. Machine safeguarding also helps you comply with legal and regulatory requirements. So, whether your machinery requires physical barriers, added safety devices, PPE, new procedures, or specific training, SpecTest Forensics can help you minimize risk.

We provide the secure management, storage, and preservation of physical and digital evidence collected during our investigations. This protection is critical for ensuring the integrity, security, and chain of custody of evidence throughout its lifecycle. Also, our services include environmentally controlled physical storage, secure digital evidence management with backup and redundant systems. In addition, we provide compliant, confidential and comprehensive chain of custody management with detailed documentation and tracking.

From our North Georgia headquarters, we provide services to manufacturers, law firms, insurance companies and more throughout the United States. In fact, our founder Jeff Hyatt has worked with both manufacturers and legal firms, and has been deposed more than 140 times for various specialties in legal cases in federal and state courts across the United States. Jeff has performed expert witness and forensic consulting services since 1996. Have a Mechanical Forensics FAQs that is not answered here?  Connect with Jeff Hyatt on LinkedIn or contact our forensic team today and let the facts and the evidence lead.