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Assigning liability for design deficiencies

On Behalf of | Apr 19, 2018 | Construction Litigation |

Whenever your firm is tasked with the design of a new construction project in Raleigh, it is always tempting to try and secure the “wow” factor from stakeholders and the general public by going with a novel new design. Such a gamble can often pay off with increased notoriety, however many of the clients that we here at the Triangle Law Group have worked with often discover that when your name is on a project, you quickly are assigned the blame for any design flaws. This is true even if you contracted with another company to come up with a structure’s design. The question, then, is whether you can then hold the designer’s feet to the fire. 

Per the website EngineersDaily.com, design deficiencies account for 38 percent of all construction disputes. Many may think that design defects would be easily identifiable during a project’s earliest stages. However, your decision to go with a design firm is no doubt based on either its reputation or your trust in their work. What reason, then, would you have to question the efficacy or legality of its work? 

Your potential to seek remedies for design deficiencies may depend on when they are identified. Typically, a designer has a duty to remedy any defects discovered before the completion of a project. That includes defects that are uncovered during the final inspection process. For defects that are found after a building has been completed and commenced being used, the liability for issues that may arise from design flaws will likely fall to you. That does not mean, however, that you may also attempt to seek relief from the designer and the officials who missed the issues during inspection. 

You can learn more about remedying your construction disputes by continuing to explore our site. 

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