Risk Management Articles
How to Limit the Liability of an Individual Design Professional
By Mark Jackson, JCJ Insurance Under Florida law, individual design professionals can be personally liable for negligence claims even if they did not sign the professional services contract with the client. Nine years ago, the State of Florida passed legislation that...
Is Value Engineering a Good Deal for Design Firms?
By Mark Jackson As we reach the halfway point of 2022, the design and construction industries continue to deal with supply chain issues. There is pressure on design firms due to a higher demand for materials, coupled with a world-wide shortage due to the on-going...
Beware of Increasing your Standard of Care
By Mark Jackson and Erin Johnson Design Professionals are held to a standard of care when providing professional services. This standard of care, similar to that imposed on doctors, lawyers and other professionals, requires them to provide professional services within...
You Need MFA
By Erin Johnson, JCJ Insurance Agency Scenario: You had a great week. Projects are going smoothly, and clients are happy. You leave Friday afternoon for a relaxing weekend. You try to login on Saturday, but the computer network system is acting weird so you decide it...
COVID-19 Prompts Changes to Florida’s Workers’ Compensation Rules
By Mark Jackson, JCJ Insurance Agency Design firms have had to make numerous changes to their business operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A significant change for many firms has been with their workforce. Firms have had to manage employees working remotely,...
Strategic Solutions for Construction Site Visits An A/E Guide
By David A. Ericksen As a result of the pandemic of 2020, construction site activities have changed or even stopped. In reality, “normal” is still a long way off and may never actually be the same again. As design and construction professionals grapple with “shelter...
Coronavirus Pandemic – Need More Toilet Paper?
By Timothy J. Corbett, SmartRisk From Disneyland to the U.S. Supreme Court, from Wall Street to Dodgers Stadium, nearly every facet of American life fell into turmoil with the coronavirus outbreak causing sweeping closures and economic disruption. Restaurants in major...
Is Code Compliance Enough to Meet the Standard of Care?
By Mark Jackson, JCJ Insurance Agency Design professionals are expected to perform their services consistent with the standard of care for their profession. What is the standard of care? When a negligence claim is made against a design professional, this is a typical...
Managing Scope Creep
By Andrew Mendelson, FAIA Senior Vice President, Chief Risk Management Officer, Berkley Design Professional Scope creep is the bane of profitability for design firms if not properly managed from the outset of contract negotiations. Once the actual project begins, it’s...
Why A/E Firms Should Opt to Litigate Instead of Arbitrate and Consider a Trial by Jury
By Terrence M. McShane, Esq. Among the critical clauses in design professional contracts are the Dispute Resolution Clauses. For over twenty years, we have advised our clients to opt for Litigation rather than Arbitration as a means of ultimate dispute resolution in...