Regularly our clients forward claims cases for our independent review. In a few cases when the particular claim is close to or has entered litigation, an evaluation has also been requested by courts or solicitors. Fortunately this is however rare.
Our evaluations often assist in avoiding claims cases reaching this stage, enabling the parties to find a satisfactory, amicable settlement instead. Most commonly the requirement is for an independent evaluation of the merits of the entire case, and of the reports issued by general surveyors, laboratories or others.
However, it can also be for the purpose of obtaining our expert opinion with regards to a specific point of the case only, such as the reading and interpretation of various temperature records, or an evaluation of the effect a particular event or circumstance would have had on the overall outturn of the consignment.
Case Evaluations
In either case our involvement generally stems from uncertainty about the root causes of a given loss, and whether or not these can be attributed to transport conditions. With our extensive expertise in this field we are able to assist the parties involved in establishing the key factors which would have contributed to the loss, and evaluate the significance of each as a root cause of the loss.
When issuing our evaluation report, we always strive to demonstrate and explain the reasoning behind our conclusions, in a way that is understandable even for persons not involved in shipment of perishables on a daily basis.