Source: Lawyers USA, February 4, 2011 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com A toxic tort plaintiff could not sue an engineering firm for failing to make a public disclosure of beryllium contamination at a chemical plant near her home, a Pennsylvania appellate court has ruled in affirming a summary judgment. The plaintiff lived near a beryllium plant for […]

A general contractor (GC) constructed a new 750-megawatt natural gas-fired power facility on a 47-acre site in New England. The GC’s responsibilities on the project included design (subcontracted), construction, and all equipment installation.  The design professional (DP)was contracted directly with the GC to provide the design services.  The DP’s design error primarily caused delays and […]

A contractor was performing design, construction and construction management services for a five-story motel project. The masonry contractor placed hollow concrete blocks without proper rebar reinforcement as specified in the plans. The owner discovered the improper construction and demanded the structure, now at the second floor, be torn down and rebuilt according to the specs. […]

A worker was seriously injured during construction by a collapsing wall. In his lawsuit, he alleged that the general contractor/construction manager was negligent for failing to provide for safety precautions. The courts agreed and held that the general contractor/construction manager was responsible for inspecting continuously or supervising the work of the subcontractors, including the right […]

A contractor subcontracted the design of a ventilation system to a mechanical engineer. The engineer miscalculated the cooling needs of the building and specified an inadequate ventilation system. Because of the system’s poor performance, the building owner demanded $180,000 to replace it. At the time of the claim, the mechanical engineer had let his Errors […]

Source:  New York Times Online, April 30, 2004 By:  Eric Lipton Intentional disregard or plain indifference by one of the main subcontractors at the Tropicana Casino and Resort expansion project, as well as serious violations by three other companies, caused the death of four workers and the injury of 20 others when the garage they […]

Read here about OSHA’s decision to fine four companies in a deadly bridge collapse.

Source: ENR By Mike Larson Officials in Milwaukee County, Wis., plan to let bids in the next two weeks for the repair of a municipal parking structure at O’Donnell Park, where a 27,000-lb precast-concrete facade panel fell off the building and killed a 15-year-old boy and injured two other people last June. The county’s 2011 […]

Publication Date 11/23/2010 Source: Boston Globe, The (MA) Trooper died after hitting handrails; Official had been told of possible risks The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and several other defendants have agreed to pay $9 million to the family of a state trooper who died when his motorcycle slammed into Big Dig handrails, whose design has been […]

Acknowledgement to XL Environmental THE CLAIM An environmental consultant insured by XL was contracted to provide environmental permitting services for its client, a manufacturer of wood products. The insured’s client planned to construct a batch plant facility and the insured was retained to assist in obtaining the required air permit. The permit was issued and […]

Acknowledgement to XL Environmental THE CLAIM An XL insured environmental consultant provided landfill closure services to a landfill client. The insured’s services included certification to authorities of the moisture content of the soils used in the landfill cover. Incorrect cap testing data was inadvertently used in the insured’s closure certification to state authorities. This error […]

Acknowledgement to XL Environmental THE CLAIM An XL insured laboratory contracted with a general contractor (GC) to provide analysis of mold spores taken from a hospital mold remediation and reconstruction project. Following a failed remediation project, the hospital sued the GC alleging various errors in the GC’s project services. The GC filed a third-party action […]