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Do you know of any consultants that have been sued?
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#1 Posted : 13 August 2007 11:53:00(UTC)
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Posted By Jean
Dear Folks

A bit of a touchy subject!

With all the talk about insurance,,, do any of you out there know of anyone who has actually been sued for incompetent work (clients perception) successfully or not?

I want to make it clear, this is not about the risks of taking out insurance.



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#2 Posted : 13 August 2007 12:27:00(UTC)
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Posted By Alan Hewett
Jean,

I believe there was a consultant who was prosecuted following an injury using wood working machinery (fairly recent ie past 2-3 years). The risk assessment by the consultant was deemed to be inadequate.

Not sure of the exact details but I'm sure someone else will know more.

Alan
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#3 Posted : 14 August 2007 00:51:00(UTC)
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Posted By Derekh
I don't know about being sued but I do recall a consultant being prosecuted back in the late 90's under the old CHSW Regs for failing to ensure adequate washing facilities on a construction site he was visiting if my memory serves me well. (I suppose someone will put me right if I am wrong).

I seem to recall he got a fine of something like £5k plus costs.

If someone does know the details more precisely I would be interested to hear from them as it has been bugging me for some time.
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#4 Posted : 14 August 2007 10:44:00(UTC)
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Posted By Jean
Thank you both for your responses. It doesn't appear that it happens too often.

I wonder if there is a statement that you can insert into your contract that would prevent a client bringing an action against you. As a professional, I have employed some real duds, whose work that I have had to take some action on, but my senior managers at the time have insisted in continuing to employ them. It sounds as if it would have to be fairly major for them to be prosecuted or sued for their work.
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#5 Posted : 14 August 2007 11:01:00(UTC)
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Posted By DRB
Prosecuting consultants is fairly rare, although I seem to remember one some years ago who got prosecuted because of poor COSHH assessments.

You can try and limit your liability by inserting a relevant clause in your contract but this won't help so far as criminal actions are concerned. However if your advising a large company and you get it wrong what's the point from their point of view is suing you? Whatever they are awarded if you don't have the funds to pay they aren't going to recover anything. If your going to take this approach I would suggest putting the house in your spouse's name though!!
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#6 Posted : 15 August 2007 12:16:00(UTC)
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Posted By Robert Tailby
I don't know of any consultants that have been sued - though it might be good if some where!

As far as my understanding of the law goes, no contractual clause can prevent you from being sued if your negligence has directly caused a personal injury. However, I'm not a lawyer!
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#7 Posted : 15 August 2007 12:18:00(UTC)
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Posted By DRB
Robert, your correct on that. You can't exclude liability for personal injury but you can for other losses. You can also limit you liability to a certain sum. Whether the other party will accept these clauses is another discussion.
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#8 Posted : 15 August 2007 15:12:00(UTC)
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Posted By Alice
So, as a fire risk assessor I can state in my terms and conditions that in the event of a fire occurring any costs associated with loss / damage to property can not be (re-)claimed from me / my company (or that the amount is limited to my level of insurance)?
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#9 Posted : 16 August 2007 12:45:00(UTC)
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Posted By DavidW
A relative of mine who works in Consultancy in the US limits his liability to the value of the contract. I think the trick is to have a good level of PI Insurance and good Terms and conditions that limit your liability in the event of a claim, although it is not always straight forward whos T&Cs actually apply. Of course none of this matters if it is a prosecution taking place. If you work as a Limited Company you have greater protection as well. Not sure which is the bigger risk though, potential for being sued or putting the house in the wife's name??
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