The overriding duty of any Expert Witness is to the court. Any client appointing an Expert must appreciate that no favour can be shown by the Expert to their cause. It is far better to learn of the Experts honest views beforehand if that view could lead to the avoidance of an otherwise costly hearing that the client may otherwise lose. It is not permitted to undertake an Experts role with any remuneration enhancement as an incentive. Conditional fees are ruled out by our Code of Conduct.
Failure of Duty of Care - Structural Engineers
Failure of duty of care of fellow professional structural engineers’ reports are provided. Instructions are normally received from the large well known insurance companies, solicitors, the public and from professional indemnity insurers or their brokers. This workload is varied but would typically involve the following:
Design Failures
Design failures may manifest themselves during or after the construction process. Professionals are often held to be negligent for what they don’t say as well as inappropriate advice, and cutting out the professional all together can end with catastrophic results.
Collapse Investigations
Unskilled labour used on building projects and the lack of appropriate insurance cover by contractors/ builders contribute to the mayhem caused after a collapse.
Construction and Material Defects
Timber Defects
Survey Reports
Building survey reports and omissions therefrom are probably the single largest cause of action against surveyors that are covered by my reports.
Contract Administration
Contract administration errors are another cause of alleged negligence against surveyors.
NHBC
The biggest single investment that most people make is their home. But what happens when your house suffers from a defect.
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