When seeking information to defend cases in litigation there are many factors that drive the costs. In the current legal theater, latent injury and environmental cases usually span many years and, more frequently than not, several decades. Normal discovery methods can be time consuming, expensive and, in the end, less productive than anticipated. Why? Materials have been destroyed because of the passing of time, memories have faded and most importantly, the adversary doesn’t want you to access the information you seek much less the information which might be helpful to you.

Enviro-Tox conducts investigations for counsel and clients using investigative skills learned by insurance claims professionals before the demise of such investigations in the insurance industry in the late 1970’s. Such investigations are directed, or conducted, by experienced claims professionals who have spent their entire career working with insureds and counsel in the defense of complex litigation.

How many times have you hired an independent adjuster or private investigator and given them ten pieces of information with which to start an investigation and in return received a report containing eight pieces of the same information and nothing new, with the exception of a large invoice? The professionals at Enviro-Tox have experienced this many times in our former lives as insurance claims managers and supervisors. Every investigation contains a unique set of basic facts and each has a goal which may well shift as new and significant information is found. It is rare that a complete investigation doesn’t develop beneficial rabbit trails with crucial information for counsel to use.

Complex investigations can be anything from tracking down witnesses from 30 years ago to interviewing hundreds of witness’s to recreate chemical processes long ago abandoned.

Here at Enviro-Tox, we feel privileged to discuss the case with the client and suggest investigative actions that would meet your initial goals.

Example:

Enviro-Tox was retained by a group of attorneys representing different defendants in litigation involving a large chemical process unit that had been shut down some thirty years in the past. Various efforts to determine the actual operating process included discovery and retention of private investigators. Hundreds of millions of dollars was at stake and through our investigative efforts we located in excess of 200 workers who were interviewed in depth and the complete process was reconstructed. As a result of the information learned a compromise settlement was reached which satisfied both plaintiffs and defendants.