Am I alone in finding the construction Industry Council's "liability briefing", dated February 2004, breathtakingly cavalier in its view of the position of the client? Plainly, clients come in all shapes and sizes but most build once in a lifetime. They are not familiar with the industry and the process of building a project. They turn to their consultants for advice. Even expert clients need the help of architects, structural engineers, acousticians and the like. And what is the advice from the CIC? It is suggesting that because consultants are facing a hardening professional indemnity insurance market, they should limit their liability for breach of contract or negligence to a financial cap - "beyond which the consultant will not be liable" In other words, beyond which the client has to bear the consequences of the consultant's breach of contract or negligence.
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