The investigation of failures, ranging from serviceability to catastrophic, which may lead to legal activity: materials, products, structures or components that fail or do not perform as intended, causing injury, property damage or economic loss, as well as retracing the events leading to a vehicle or machinery accident. The 1847 Dee Bridge disaster and the 1879 Tay Bridge disaster are commonly cited as early cases treated in this manner, long before the discipline was formally organized.
Facts
What It ExaminesSourced to the subject's own accountMaterials, products, structures or components that fail or do not operate as intended, and the processes and procedures leading to accidents in the operation of vehicles or machinery. 1 Known LimitationSourced to the subject's own accountProduct failures are not widely published in academic or trade literature, largely because companies do not want to advertise their own problems, which limits the shared case record the discipline can draw on. 1 Disputed
Formalized YearSourced to the subject's own account1847 marks the Dee Bridge disaster, among the earliest cases commonly cited as forensic engineering avant la lettre; the discipline was not formally organized until much later, so no single founding year is settled. Sources
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