Property loss causation engineer
Expert class library · Insurance · Either side
Determines what caused property damage, such as wind versus flood or sudden versus long-term deterioration. Allocation between covered and excluded causes often decides coverage.
What this expert is retained to answer
- Was the roof or structural damage caused by a covered storm event, or by long-term wear and tear, defective seams, or other excluded causes?
- Which storm caused the damage when several hurricanes or hail events struck the property over the years?
- Did the engineer inspect the roof and interior, take moisture readings, or test the membrane before reaching a causation opinion?
- What wind speeds did the structure experience, and what loads would those winds place on the roof system?
- Has every plausible alternative cause, such as a failed roofing seam or parapet defect, been considered and ruled out?
Methods
- Site inspection and damage mapping
- Wind versus water analysis
- Weather data review
- Structural failure analysis
How the testimony is attacked
- Inadequate investigation. Insurers attack causation opinions built on a short visual inspection with no interior review, testing, or maintenance records. In Bliv, Inc. v. Charter Oak Fire Insurance Co. the Eighth Circuit affirmed exclusion of the insured's engineer, whose hail opinion rested on a brief exterior look and other people's reports.
- Alternative causes not ruled out. Opponents argue the engineer dismissed competing explanations without basis. The Bliv court held the engineer overlooked critical information when he eliminated a failed roofing seam as a cause of the water intrusion.
- Public data dressed as expert analysis. Insurers challenge storm-attribution opinions that merely compare published storm statistics. In Clena Investments v. XL Specialty Insurance the court struck the engineer's opinion that one hurricane rather than another caused the damage to the extent it rested on a chart of public data any lawyer could argue from.
- Experience and inspection as a basis. Insurers argue that opinions resting on experience rather than testing are unreliable. The Clena court allowed the same storm-attribution opinion where it rested on the engineer's training, hurricane code experience, and inspection of cracks and holes in the roof.
- No inspection before the report. Insurers argue that a wind engineer who never inspected the home lacks sufficient facts. In Hoover v. United Services Automobile Ass'n the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld admission of the homeowners' structural engineer, whose opinion rested on wind loading research and who inspected the home before trial.
What the public record shows
A deliberately narrow CourtListener search, engineer AND (wind OR hurricane) AND "flood" AND causation AND (Daubert OR "Rule 702"), returned 12 opinions filed since 2015, as of October 2, 2026; broader searches return more. Three that show how courts handle this class of testimony:
| Outcome | Case | Court | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excluded | Bliv, Inc. v. The Charter Oak Fire Insurance CompanyNo. 24-3123 | 8th Cir. 2025 | The Eighth Circuit affirmed exclusion of the insured's engineer, whose opinion that hail rather than wear and tear caused roof water intrusion rested on a brief visual inspection, no interior review or testing, and an unsupported dismissal of a failed seam as the cause. |
| Limited | Clena Investments, Inc. v. XL Specialty Insurance280 F.R.D. 653 | S.D. Fla. 2012 | The court struck the insured's engineer's opinion attributing roof damage to one hurricane insofar as it rested on a chart of public storm data, but admitted the same opinion insofar as it rested on his engineering experience and inspection of the roof. |
| Admitted | Hoover v. United Services Automobile Ass'n125 So. 3d 636 | Miss. 2013 | Applying Mississippi's Daubert-based Rule 702, the Mississippi Supreme Court held the trial court properly admitted the homeowners' structural engineer on hurricane wind damage to the roof, since his opinion rested on wind loading research and he inspected the home before testifying. |
Each case links to the free opinion text on CourtListener.
Under amended Rule 702
Since December 1, 2023, Rule 702 says expressly that the party offering an expert must show the court it is more likely than not that the testimony meets each requirement: that it rests on sufficient facts or data, uses reliable methods, and reflects a reliable application of those methods to the case. Questions about the basis of an opinion are no longer automatically matters of weight for the jury. For how the circuits have applied the amendment, see the Rule 702 tracker, which follows each court of appeals; for what that means for preparing or attacking this class of expert, see the guide on amended Rule 702.
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Last reviewed October 2, 2026. How this page is built: rulings are found by searching court opinions on CourtListener, and each one is read in the opinion before it is summarised here; outcomes are labelled by what the court did with the expert's testimony. No individual expert is named. This page summarises public decisions for orientation and is not legal advice; read the opinion before relying on any ruling.