Weather Reports, Consulting, and Expert Testimony for Insurance and Legal Matters
Understanding the specific weather conditions that impacted an event of interest and knowing whether those conditions were foreseeable can resolve claims, win cases, and settle disputes. At Blue Skies, we partner with insurers large and small, claims adjusters and investigators, engineers, attorneys, businesses and non-profits, and private individuals to analyze complex weather situations and present the conclusions in a clear and accessible manner. Whether you need a comprehensive written report, background consultation, or something in between, we’re here to help!
Blue Skies Meteorological Services offers a full range of forensic meteorology products and services, including:
- Free initial consultation – a thorough discussion of your insurance claim, investigation, or legal case to determine whether the weather played a critical role in the event(s) in question and, if it did, how Blue Skies Meteorological Services can assist you with a forensic weather investigation.
- Detailed meteorological and climatological investigation and analysis – an in-depth investigation of the weather conditions and the role they played in your case or claim, as well as a determination as to whether those conditions were climatologically normal and foreseeable. Blue Skies Meteorological Services can be retained as either a consulting or testifying expert in its performance of such forensic investigations and analyses.
- Written report – an detailed and comprehensive analysis of the weather conditions and the role they played in your insurance claim or legal case, written and illustrated in a manner that is both scientifically thorough and accessible to non-experts.
- Expert witness testimony – reciting the meteorological facts of the case as well as offering expert opinion based on those facts at deposition and/or trial in support of our forensic meteorology reports.
Sample reports are currently available for the following types of investigations (click title to download):
The Blue Skies Difference
At Blue Skies Meteorological Services, we provide attorneys and insurance carriers and investigators from across the United States with rigorous forensic meteorological analyses of damaging weather events. We’re a small shop, and our emphasis is on providing personalized service, rigorous analyses, and full support both before and after a report is written and delivered. When you pick up the phone and call us, you’ll speak directly with the forensic meteorologist who has handled your case from beginning to end – no phone tree, no sales team, no hassle.
Blue Skies Meteorological Services guarantees:
- Responsive and personal local service – we’re on your time zone and in your neighborhood
- Customized forensic meteorology products – you tell us the specific questions that you need answered, and we answer them; no automated, one-size-fits-all products here
- Quick, accurate, and thorough analyses – we utilize only the most rigorously quality-controlled data and industry best-practices to analyze historical weather situations and impacts
Why Use a Forensic Meteorologist?
Weather can be a factor in a broad range of insurance claims and civil and criminal cases – from automobile accidents (was the sun directly in the driver’s eyes?) to house fires (was it lightning or arson?), from insurance disputes (did the damage occur on the reported date of loss or before the policy went into effect?) to negligence and liability cases (did the structure/infrastructure/equipment fail within or outside of its stated tolerances? were conditions foreseeable?), from murder (could the defendant really have gotten that sunburned in half an hour, as his alibi claims?) to slip-and-falls (was the entryway slickened by a localized rain shower?), and just about anything in between.
Answering questions such as those posed above necessitates knowing what the weather was doing at a specific time and location in the past, and gathering that knowledge often requires detailed research and forensic meteorology expertise. However, the research is not the end of the story. Once the analysis is complete, it must still be conveyed to those who need to know in a way that makes clear what happened, how we know it happened, and why it’s important.
At Blue Skies Meteorological Services, we reconstruct past weather situations by analyzing official, archived weather data (data can be certified, if required) and by conducting on-site research and investigation, as needed. In disputes that involve questions of infrastructure sufficiency/adequacy, climate analyses are often used. We then synthesize the results of our investigation in an expert witness report, written and illustrated with graphics to most effectively communicate often-complex information in a style that is accessible and meaningful to non-experts.
Often, a strong forensic meteorology report is sufficient to settle a case outside of the courtroom, but in the event that your case does go to trial, we are available for expert witness testimony. With significant education and communication experience among diverse audiences, Megan D. Walker maintains a strong, poised, and articulate presence on the stand.
Whether you’re an attorney, insurance adjuster, investigator, local business, international corporation, or private citizen, we can provide you with the expert forensic meteorology analysis that you need. Our reports can be used to address disputes related to, but not limited to:
- property damage
- motor vehicle collisions
- marine accidents
- aviation accidents
- personal injury incidents
- construction delays and/or work disputes
- criminal cases
- storm damage (comprehensive)
- lightning damage and/or injury
- wind damage
- rainfall and snow/ice rates and totals
- hail damage
- flooding
- sun glare, sunrise, sunset, and sun location
If you are involved in a legal or insurance case in which you suspect that weather was a factor, please contact us via email or phone to receive a free initial consultation and fee schedule. Sample forensic meteorology reports are also available with no obligation.
