Professional Indemnity Claims - Learning From the Past

The classical theory of travelling and standing waves is applied to the case of wind blowing across a fabric structure. Results are obtained which are of practical importance for the design of fabric structures. C.J.K. Williams

All professionals do research. The essence of any professional job is ‘careful search or inquiry’ and ‘critical investigation’ in the ‘endeavour to discover new or collate old facts’. The purpose of such endeavours may be the design of a building, or the construction of a bridge, but in each case the gathering and assessment of relevant information as a basis for professional cecision is an essential feature - especially when, as usual, the building or structure is unique. P.L. Bransby

The past 2 decades have seen many changes in the demands made on the construction industry and the ways its work is tackled. Some have been to the benefit of the industry and its clients; some have not. Important among the latter is the erosion of trust and confidence between many clients and their consultants: happily, there are exceptions. A rash of failures, commercial and other pressures, risk aversion, pursuit of cost effectiveness (sometimes with too little regard for quality), have all contributed to increased litigation and, perhaps more importantly, to the threat of litigation, to risk transfer, and to the increased cost of professional indemnity insurance, now temporarily abated. Professor D. Bishop