The Forensic expert kollegium carries out all types of construction and technical expertise (expertise of construction projects and the territory functionally connected with them) in forensic and pre-trial procedures.
Quite frequently encountered issues within the framework of the forensic expertise of construction sites and the territory functionally connected with them are those which arose in connection with emergency incidents, such as floods, fires and other damage to construction sites.
Such expertise can be divided into two groups: establishing the causes of emergency incidents and determining the cost of restoration repairs (the amount of damage).
Below are sample questions that are put to resolution of the expertise:
- What is the reason for the flooding of the apartment located at the address: XXXX, which occurred on XX.XX.20XX?
- Could the flooding of the apartment located at the address: XXXX, which occurred on XX.XX.20XX, be caused by the circumstances described in the statement of claim (act)?
- What is the cost of restoration of an apartment (isolated room) located at the address: XXXX to eliminate defects caused by a flood (fire) that occurred on XX.XX.20XX?
The objects of study of this type of expertise, in addition to the premises themselves, are:
- technical passport for the premises;
- act on the fact of flooding;
- defective act;
- conclusion of the Ministry of emergency situations on the fire;
- estimate for repairs (if available).
These examinations are classified as simple examinations or examinations of medium complexity.
The production period for such expertise is 1-2 weeks.
Quite often, flooding of residential and industrial premises occurs due to a violation of the integrity of elements of heating systems, pressure pipelines, pipeline shut-off valves (including taps and mixers), and water flow meters. The most common causes of flooding are:
- poor-quality manufacturing of parts of water supply and heating systems;
- poor-quality installation of parts of water supply and heating systems;
- unacceptable excess pressure in pipelines of water supply and heating systems;
- external unacceptable impact (shock, thermal) on parts of water supply and heating systems;
- grounding of electrical equipment on pipes and radiators of water supply and heating systems, which contributes to the emergence of stray currents and the development of electrochemical corrosion of pipelines and radiators;
- deliberate opening of water shut-off valves (unauthorized action of a certain person).
In some cases, the subject of a civil dispute is not the flooding of premises, but the presence of leaks in plumbing products and pipeline elements. To establish the cause of leakage (a defect in a plumbing product or gasket, or poorly performed installation work), the Forensic expert kollegium conducts hydraulic tests of plumbing products, as a result of which mechanical destruction of defective parts may occur. Therefore, to reduce the procedural time frame for conducting a forensic expertise the court permission for partial destruction of the research object is required.
Specific objects of research for forensic expertise of heating and water supply systems are steam and hot water boilers and boiler installations. The Forensic expert kollegium carries out expertise of gas, liquid and solid fuel boilers, as well as electric water heaters. The most common causes of failures of boilers and water heaters, as well as destruction of their parts, are:
- violation of the design rules for water supply and heating systems (inconsistency with the power of the boiler (boiler installation), unacceptable design of heating circuits, connection of new heating circuits to the existing system, errors in the design of the exhaust gas removal system, smoke removal);
- violation of the rules for installing water supply and heating systems (use of unacceptable methods of connecting pipelines, installation of boilers in rooms without sufficient air exchange, poor-quality boiler lining);
- violation of boiler operating rules (unauthorized, unacceptable shutdown by the consumer of electrical power, fuel supply, shutdown of the heating system circuit, use of improper fuel (coal, sawdust or peat briquettes instead of firewood, dilution of diesel fuel, fuel oil), use of unacceptable additives in fuel, excess loading (supply) fuel, deliberate impact on boiler parts with piercing or cutting objects;
- violation of the rules for the design and manufacture of boilers and their parts (use of inappropriate materials, production of low-quality welded joints, failure to ensure uniform heating of heated elements when firing the boiler, failures of electronic control systems, automatic protection systems).
When ordering a forensic expertise of boilers and boiler installations, the court ruling must indicate which party, if necessary, will be entrusted with the responsibility for destroying the boiler lining, dismantling and transporting the boiler or damaged parts to the forensic institution. If the object of investigation is a gas boiler that has not been dismantled at the time of the expertise, then the court ruling, in addition to the forensic institution, the court must involve certified specialists from the regional gas supply service in dismantling the boiler. If there are leaks in the boiler of fuel or coolant, deformation of the walls of the furnace or boiler economizer, failure of the recirculation (mains, circulation) pump, burners or nozzles, it is necessary to conduct research using destructive testing methods. Therefore, the presence of permission for partial destruction of research objects in the court ruling will reduce the time spent by the forensic institution. In case of replacing damaged parts due to a boiler failure, all replaced parts must be submitted in sealed form to a forensic institution to determine the cause of this failure.
You can consult the Forensic expert kollegium on the appointment of a forensic expertise of construction projects and the territory functionally associated with them (construction and technical expertise), at: Minsk, Zhukovskaga St., 11A, 4th floor
or by phone +375 (17) 317 04 71; +375 (17) 317 04 72; +375 (17) 317 04 73; +375 (17) 317 04 74; +375 (44) 588 60 11
