Design Professional Standard of Care

"It's all about damages."

The question of whether or not the architect's or engineer's performance met the "standard of care" arises when errors occur, or when there is a failure of a constructed facility to achieve its intended safety, durability, serviceability or utility. The standard of care is not a fixed "standard" in the way other standards are, such as the standards for sampling and testing concrete. The standard of care of architects and engineers varies with time, locale and circumstances, and depends on the specific practice being examined.

HCG is most often retained by insurance defense attorneys on cases where suit has been brought by the owner against an architect and/or engineer, or where the AE and its insurer have been asked to address design-related claims made by the contractor. Our work has involved:

• Assessment of whether the designer's performance met the standard of care
• Assessment of whether the designer's performance caused schedule delays and damages
• A/E Contract Administration/Construction Observation issues
• Contractor change request and change order causation and pricing analysis
• Damages rebuttal through analysis of betterments, upgrades, and first-time costs

Holloway Consulting's experts seek to determine whether the standard of care has been met based on investigations, review of plans, specifications, reports and records, and/or opinions and work of other professionals performing the same or similar services at the time in question.

Please contact us about your consulting needs.