Designer Liability From A Forensic Architects Point of View? By William Henry, PhD “Your Architect Cannot Deliver Perfection” As a forensic architect and court certified expert witness, I am often engaged by both plaintiff and defense counsel to opine on whether an architect has committed errors and omissions that would lead to liability exposure. What actions by architects constitute errors and omissions (E&O) that could lead to damages incurred by property owners, clients, and/or victims of construction site injuries? A Take On Errors And Omissions Prior to attempting to offer up yet another definition of E&O, we need to establish […]
Determining Cause…Who Is To Blame? By William Henry, PhD Overview As design forensic experts we are often tasked with investigating sites where injuries and/or fatalities arise from unsafe building conditions. Often times, no photographic or other visual record exists of the actual incident. In these cases, the expert must rely on third party accounts from eyewitnesses who provide testimony as to their recollection of what occurred. Documentation of onsite condition There are some instances where actual videos record the incident from security cameras, or a passerby may have photographs immediately following the incident derived from sources such as cell phone […]
What are DreamScapes? By William Henry, PhD Over the last 30 years or so I, like many Florida residents, enjoy taking my family to Disney World as well as other theme parks in Central Florida. I hope to take my grandchildren there someday. My favorite has always been the MGM theme park attraction at Disney World. I am also impressed with Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island. There seems to be an aura of “Magic” present as well as at the other Disney venues. Though my background entails practicing both as a designer and researcher, I had not bothered to tap […]
Shopping Center Industry Coins “Med-Tail” By William Henry PhD A New Acronym For Medical Clinics Locating In Retail Centers Recent Moves to Retrofit Existing Commercial and Retail Space Spurs Demand for “DESIGN DUE DILIGENCE’ Diversion of retail sales from traditional ‘sticks and bricks’ retail centers to internet sales leads to ‘Med-Tail’. At the annual Florida Conference of the International Council of Shopping Centers ‘ICSC’ a new acronym was coined from the presentations to describe the migration of many walk in clinics, medical diagnostic centers and outpatient treatment areas into vacant spaces once housing retail uses. The term to describe it […]
Is Your Commercial Property “Grandfathered” To Offer Relief From Some ADA Requirements? By William Henry PhD How Does the Term “Readily Achievable” Apply to this “Grandfathering” Provision? When addressing the challenges posed by American Disability Act legislation, business and commercial property owners often ask, “Is my property ‘grandfathered’ so as to alleviate the need for compliance?” Compliance hinges on the date of occupancy of the inhabitable space. The operative date is January 1, 1991. Was the property inhabited prior to 1991? If so, then compliance may not be required if the cures to the design and construction are deemed to […]
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
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