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Electrical

Don Gifford, CEO of GCG, has been an electrical contractor since the late 1970s.  For the last 20 years, subsequent to sale of his electrical contracting and design firm, he has been serving the legal profession and insurance industry. Expertise with respect to electrical retention includes identification and evaluation of construction defects, response to electrical allegations, systems analysis and consultation, construction planning and design, and electrical systems resolution.  In addition to scores of active forensic cases,  Mr. Gifford currently providing services for property owners, including  a Las Vegas skyscraper, resolving major electrical system malfunctions and outages. He actively consults and testifies regarding electrical injury, electrocution, electrical standard of care, code compliance issues, and contract disputes.

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Personal Injury

GCG case load history is virtually balanced between Plaintiff and Defense personal injury cases.  Mr. Gifford testifies in trial is with respect to: electrical injury and electrocution; trip and fall related to lighting, egress, excavation, pedestrian hazards, utility worker injury, standard of care issues, and more.  During his 20 year history as an expert and expert witness, Mr. Gifford has been retained on behalf of, without limitation: a) owners of casinos, resorts, hotels and other complexes; b) commercial and institutional property owners; c) multi-resident communities; d) contracting firms; e) individual property owners; f) industrial job sites; g) injured parties; h) public works entities; i) public works contractors;  municipal jurisdictions; j) U.S. Department of Labor; and k) Attorney General, State of Nevada.

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Construction Defect

GCG has been retained during its 20 year history in matters on behalf of 389 Plaintiffs, 409 Defendants, and 36 times as a joint expert.  Case work has pertained to constructional defects in commercial, institutional, public works, and residential properties and/or systems.  Disciplines covered by GCG include electrical, lighting, mechanical, plumbing, civil, design, and general construction.  Given our team of experts, associate engineers, and other resources, we are suited to handle multiple disciplines. Mr. Gifford has testified in deposition and trial on the topic of construction defect in numerous states.  Retention include, without limitation:  a) high rise facilities in San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Orange County, CA; b) condominium communities, apartment complexes, and single family communities in Las Vegas, Reno, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City.

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Lighting

Mr. Gifford has designed and constructed lighting systems for more than three decades.  He has been responsible for the design of electrical and lighting systems related to new car agencies, chemical plants, mining operations, institutions, public roadways, commercial parking lots, rental car facilities, airport area parking lots, churches, and nightclubs. He has testified on numerous occasions with regard to lighting systems, lighting equipment, and lighting design.  Mr. Gifford is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America and, as such, was invited to speak at a national lighting symposium sponsored by IESNA in Nashville, TN in 2014. In addition to his trial testimony appertaining to lighting, a New Jersey based mining company was responsible for an injury and near death of a D-9 Caterpillar operator who passed over the apex of a coal heap and slid more than 100 feet into a coal chute designed to load railroad cars. As part of his retention, Mr. Gifford analyzed the company safety practices, circumstances surrounding the incident, impact of inadequacy of lighting to the well being of the operator and equipment; this work was done on behalf of the jurisdictional authority. In 1986, Mr. Gifford designed a $1,000,000 temporary lighting system for use in each of the two spillway overflow tunnels at Hoover Dam. In more than one instance, he has used his training and expertise to recreate, for forensic purposes, the effects of lighting at commercial properties which had undergone changes subsequent to trip and fall incidences, thus providing reliable data for use in trial, including the production of photometrics in order to recreate lighting scenarios at communities and at commercial facilities where conditions had changes subsequent to an injury and complaint.

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Surety/Bonding

GCG has been retained by sureties who have bonded contractors performing public works projects and commercial projects. This work has included: a) analysis of financial records, payroll records, contract records, and public works documents; b) evaluation of Invitations to Bid, project specifications, building plans, and Process Detail and Instrumentation Diagrams; c) communications and mediation with public works entity engineers and principals; d) communications with company principals, associates, and employees; e) communications with government and utility employees; f) analysis of public records; g) analysis and interaction with design professionals, including engineers of record, with respect to a project.  Mr. Gifford has worked directly on behalf of sureties on projects, as follows: i) Southern Nevada Water Authority Ozone Project; ii) Water Delivery Upgrade and Treatment projects in Los Angeles, Fresno, Pamona, San Diego and Riverside, CA; iii) a new Walmart store in Nogales, AZ; iv) Maricopa County Judicial Center in Phoenix, AZ; v) Platt River Power Authority, Nebraska; vi) Water Treatment Plant at Weiser, Idaho; vii) Hampton Inn, Las Vegas, NV; viii) commercial project, Fullerton, CA; ix) Carnegie Street Schools, NV; x) UNLV University Medical Center; xi) Clark County School District facility, Las Vegas, NV.

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Fires

GCG has been retained on numerous occasions over the last 15 years to evaluate and testify on behalf of property owners, insurance companies, damaged parties, and manufacturers, to evaluate fires and explosions, including characteristics and propagation of fires. Mr. Gifford has evaluated, and in many instances has testified, with respect to fires involving electrical equipment, appliances, buildings, large and small vehicles., electrical components, portable equipment, and stationary gear.   Mr. Gifford is a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and, in carrying out or overseeing the identification of potential contributors to fires and explosions,  in eliminating  systems and components which are non-contributory to an event, and in preparing reports based on analysis, has done so with due regard to the principles and standards set forth within NFPA No. 921 and various other national standards applicable to this work.

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Economic Impact; Project Delay; Damages

Mr. Gifford has been retained as an economic impact expert on a number of occasions, including without limitation: a) on behalf of the owners of a western 500,000 acre preserve, wherein they had been sued for approximately 50 million dollars, based on alleged economic impact to an injured patron of the preserve; b) a matter where the owners of a mixed use, high-rise property in Southern Nevada were in a dispute related to monies owned by the retail tenants’ use of byproducts originating with mechanical, electrical,and water systems operations paid for by the owner for nearly 5 years; c) a decade-long case involving a multi-million dollar contract dispute between the owners of a one billion dollar west-coast project, their prime contractor, and subcontractors — the scope of retention, on behalf of the municipality, included inspection of the public works plant, a study of construction plans and specifications, research regarding validity of change orders and contract change directives,  examination of requests for information and requests for proposals, and ascertaining compliances. Work as an economic expert  and as a damages consultant typically includes a present value analysis.  In matters involving contract disputes or in working for a surety, a  proposed set of alternatives solutions with projected outcomes are calculated, substantiated, and presented as part of the analysis. Mr. Gifford has performed expert work in matters dealing with project delay, utility company over-bearance, contract and scope of work disputes, entitlements, procurements, equipment valuation, and depreciation.

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Forensic Analysis

GCG has participated in scores of matters where lab based forensic analyses were performed for the purpose of ascertaining the causes and/or sources of product failure, fires, and/or explosions involving electrical switchgear, conduit and wiring, copper piping, lighting systems, transformers, water valves, underground corrosion, electrolysis, and internal failures.  As part of a team of experts and at times as an expert team leader, Mr. Gifford has conducted and/or participated in inspections, analysis, destructive testing, microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray of failed or fire damaged artifacts and evidence. In recent years Mr. Gifford was retained to analyze evidence related to, by way of example and not of limitation: a) a failure involving the explosion of a one million dollar Prevost bus conversion; b) fires within large commercial structures, including a high-rise; c) a multitude of fires within custom homes, tract homes, medical facilities, and production facilities; d) fires involving electrical transformers, battery chargers, sprinkler clocks, lighting fixtures, household appliances, and commercial equipment and appliances; e) plumbing piping; f) mechanical component failure; f) and more.

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Mechanical

Harvey H. Irby is a license professional mechanical engineer with four decades of experience int the design of commercial, institutional, industrial, and residential mechanical and plumbing systems.  Mr. Irby has been retained as a mechanical and plumbing expert on hundreds of occasions and has testified in court numerous times  in Nevada, California, and other western states. Mr. Gifford and Mr. Irby have worked together on numerous occasions in cases involving: a) construction defect; b) economic impact; c) mechanical and electrical failures; d) and more.

 

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Civil & Structural

Scott Jacobs is a licensed professional engineer with several decades of experience in Civil and Structural Engineering. Moreover, beginning as early as 2005, he been retained as an expert witness in matters pertaining to construction defect and case reconstruction.  Both Mr. Jacobs and Mr. Gifford have provided expert services on behalf of clients served in California and Nevada.

 

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