Risk Management Articles
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...
WHAT THE DESIGN PROFESSIONAL NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT BLOCKCHAIN
By Lee J. Sacket, Esq. The construction industry has traditionally been slow on change. Despite meteoric advances in technology, many construction project files are still paper based and disorganized, leading to inefficiencies, redundancies and sometimes, mistakes in...
Beware of Redesign Obligations
By Mark Jackson, JCJ Insurance What are the design firm’s responsibilities when the construction bids exceed the owner’s budget? What about when construction costs are over budget due to change orders? The answer is… “it depends”. It depends on what your contract...