15th October 2024
“Discovering a defect in your premises can have an extensive impact on your rates of production and ability to trade. It can be difficult to know where to start in resolving these issues. In this article we take you through the 5 key steps to take upon discovery of a defect, to protect your position and mitigate risk.“
All construction and engineering projects, no matter how well planned and executed, can suffer from defects, whether they manifest as design defects, workmanship defects or material defects.
Discovering a defect in your premises can mean that you need to halt or reduce production and can lead to extensive loss of profits and business opportunity, in addition to the cost of fixing the defect itself.
In this article we take you through the 5 key steps to take upon discovery of a defect, to protect your position and mitigate risk, and what we can do to help.
You have positive obligations to prevent harm or injury to those whom you employ and the general public. Therefore, your first step is always to assess the risk. This will also help you identify precisely what the problem is, be it a design, construction/manufacturing/installation, or material defect (one defect can masquerade as another, identifying the source is crucial for making safe the works and recovery).
Some defects may be covered by your buildings insurance policy. Check your policy documents and notify your insurance providers as appropriate.
Which company carried out the works? Are they still trading?
The risk assessment and any other investigations will assist you in terms of identifying the responsible party for the defect, thereafter, you must consider what contract documents you have with that party and what those documents say. The key documents to check for are building contracts and collateral warranties.
Key points to check in these documents are:
Prevention of defects is worth more than a cure. Planning for defect remediation starts at the very outset of your construction project, before any ground is broken.
We can assist by:
Please contact Carly Thorpe of the Construction & Engineering Team for tailored advice, assistance or training on the legal issues arising out of your construction and engineering projects.