Forensic Services
Solterra Solutions provides Forensic Services under two main areas.
- Forensic Meteorology
- Archival and historical educational analysis
Forensic Meteorology
In accident-related litigation or insurance claims it is often necessary to obtain reconstructions of past weather conditions or events. By collecting and analyzing archived weather data, forensic meteorology provides the client with expert opinion as to what the weather conditions were at the time of the accident. Such opinion includes, but is not limited to, the time and foreseeability of black ice or frost formation on a road surface, the magnitude and uncommonness of individual precipitation events, the magnitude and direction of damaging winds, and the length and severity of heat waves.
More than seventy cases have been examined over the last two decades. For a sample of some of the cases where expert opinion and witness testimony has been provided, please refer to the following examples.
British Columbia Supreme Court
- Belitchev v. Grigorov et al., 2000 BCSC 765 - 2000/05/17
- Benoit v. The Farrell Estate, 2002 BCSC 1664 - 2002/12/03
- Goodwin v. Goodwin et al., 2006 BCSC 218 - 2006/02/17
- McPhee v. HMTQ et al., 2007 BCSC 568 - 2007/04/30
British Columbia Court of Appeal
- Benoit v. Farrell Estate, 2004 BCCA 348 - 2004/06/24
- McPhee v. British Columbia, 2008 BCCA 254 - 2008/06/17
Ontario Energy Board
Archival and historical educational analysis
It is not uncommon for today's educational policies and reforms to be implemented without thorough understanding of whether or not similar initiatives have been attempted in the past. Archival and historical analysis helps policy-makers learn from past successes and failures by assessing from where we have come, which policies and practices have and have not worked and why this was the case. This is particularly important in determining what affects student achievement and leads to the creation of effective schools.
Over the last decade, a number of clients have been served though our in-depth archival and historical analysis. A few specific examples are listed below.
British Columbia Ministry of Education
- Raptis, H. (2003) Setting Educational Standards: Historical, Research and Comparative Perspectives. A report presented to the B.C. Ministry of Education, Standards Department, January 2003.
- Fleming, T. and Raptis, H. (2004) Government's Paper Empire: Historical Perspectives on Student Achievement in B.C. Schools, 1872-1999. A report submitted to the B.C. Ministry of Education, June 20, 2004.
- Raptis, H., Fleming, T. and Beardsmore, B. (2004) Measuring Up: Chronologies of Student Achievement Tests in British Columbia, 1876-1999. A report submitted to the B.C. Ministry of Education, Assessment Branch, September 1, 2004.