Dive Brief:

• Construction claims are based on understanding, interpretation and estimates about the work and the situations that the contractor has encountered, but contractors have to be careful that fuzziness does not bring a charge of filing false claims, especially on a government-owned project.
• Two steps a contractor can take to make a strong case for his claims are to know the contract inside and out and to include visuals in the claim that demonstrate what happened when.
• It's also critical to stick to the truth that can be demonstrated, not just believed by one side; failing to be careful can lead to a recent situation in which a designer and contractor asked for overages on a highway project in South Carolina and found themselves being charged with filing a false claim against the government.

Dive Insight:

If things are going poorly, or just not going at all, in trying to settle a claim dispute, being the one to suggest going to mediation is a smart strategy.