Source: Miller Insurance

The Insured designed a multi-use pathway with a ramp and with a 6″ wide grass strip between the road and the pathway. In order to save costs, the County told the Insured to eliminate the ramp and shrink the grass strip to 4″. The Insured approved the design change. The Plaintiffs crossed a roadway and rode their bikes over the strip of grass to access the pathway when one of the Plaintiffs fell off her bike, suffering a traumatic brain injury. She and her husband filed a lawsuit against the Insured, another engineering firm, the general contractor, the concrete subcontractor and the sod subcontractor, alleging negligent design and construction of the pathway. The claim was settled with participation by all parties on the design team. Lesson Learned: Keeping detailed and complete notes about value engineering steps, including those that the Insured does not think should be undertaken or ideas an Insured suggested but were rejected, is imperative to risk management.