Why Designers Should Not Be Held to Higher Legal Responsibility
Beware fiduciary responsibility, warns Lockton's Karen Erger, because it doesn't fit construction
Karen Erger, senior vice president of practice risk management at insurance broker Lockton Cos., warns engineers and architects to be on guard against contract language that would effectively burden them with fiduciary responsibility for a project.
A fiduciary responsibility binds a professional to his or her client via a special legal and ethical relationship of trust. Physicians and accountants are covered by that standard, which requires that the client or customer’s interest is paramount.