Introduction

In much of the work our consultants are named as expert witnesses in litigation as “standard of care experts.” We render opinions about various parties and whether they performed above or below “the standard of care.”

The 'standard of care' is the behavior expected of a reasonable person in a particular situation. In legal terms, it's the level of attention, caution, and prudence someone should have to avoid harming others. For professionals like doctors or lawyers, it's higher due to their specialized knowledge. If they don't meet their standard and someone is harmed, they may be legally responsible. For example, a doctor would need to provide the same quality of care that any other competent doctor would provide in the same situation. If they don't, and a patient is harmed, they could be sued for malpractice.

That sounds reasonable. Now for the hard part: Apply this "standard" to virtually any party in any building project in cases as diverse as construction defect litigation, property & injury (general liability) claims, contract or scheduling claims, fire claims, and myriad whacky claims we never would have imagined. In this program we will talk with building, insurance, and legal experts about how this works.

Learning Objectives

• Survey the great big world of construction litigation and where the standard of care experts fit in.

• Explain the legal definition of standard of care.

• Describe the roles and responsibilities in construction projects.

• Introduce the key resources that define standard of care for any party.

• Explain our method for deciding when parties operated above and below the standard of care.

• Show opinions from real cases.

Program Outline

1. Introduction

2. The Standard of Care

3. Contracting 101

4. RTFC

5. Authoritative Standards

6. Rendering & Supporting Opinions

7. Conclusion

Our Panel

Continuing Education Credit

A disclaimer that this webinar requires you to answer all polling questions to receive continuing education credit. Credit will not be given to those who miss a polling question, or to those that are determined to be inattentive by On24's software. Some states require an affidavit for credit eligibility, which will be sent to the appropriate attendees via email after the webinar. This affidavit can also be completed during the live webinar using the widget provided on screen. The entire program must be attended live to receive credit, and continuing education certificates will be sent out within one week of the webinar.

This webinar is either approved or is pending approval for 1.0 credit hour of both CE (insurance) and MCLE (legal) continuing education credit in the following states:

• Texas

• California

• Nevada

• Florida