Many people often ask: what is construction litigation?
If you’ve ever asked “what is construction litigation?”, this blog post is for you. Let’s talk about where you’re more likely to find construction litigation and things you can do to help avoid it.
What Is Construction Litigation?
Construction litigation is what you think it is – litigation that arises out of construction projects. This can include construction contracts, building accidents, equipment malfunctions, property disputes and government regulatory compliance. Construction projects involve numerous elements and parties. This means there are plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong. Building delays can lead to cost overruns and lost profits. These delays can result from any number of causes.
For instance, mechanical equipment failures and human error can result in injured workers. A poor understanding of the law can result in violations of building codes, ordinances and zoning laws.
When things go wrong, there is usually someone who has to pay the price, and they often don’t want to. And sometimes, the responsible party isn’t directly involved in the construction, such as a manufacturer of building equipment that malfunctions. Whenever there is a disagreement relating to the building project, courtroom litigation is very possible.
Where Is Construction Litigation Seen the Most?
Construction litigation is most common and frequent when there is a complex construction project taking place. While construction litigation is possible even with the smallest project, such as a single contractor building a porch for a private homeowner, because the project is so small, there’s less of a chance something can go wrong. There is also a lot less money at stake, so it’s more likely the injured party will decide avoiding litigation is worth more than any potential recovery.
But on a large scale construction project, it is practically a given that something will not go according to plan. You may have dozens of investors, a general contractor, and numerous subcontractors. There is ample opportunity for someone to misread a contract, a natural disaster to cause a huge price increase in a key construction material or equipment to break down and result in delays.
How to Prevent Construction Litigation?
Unfortunately, there is no way to completely avoid the chance of construction litigation. Doing so would probably require the use of a time machine. There are simply many things beyond the control of human beings. There are also many things that no one can reasonably anticipate. Therefore, they don’t factor the unexpected into their construction plans.
However, having a good construction attorney can drastically reduce the opportunities for a misunderstanding or unforeseen event to cause an unexpected delay during the construction project. Perhaps it’s preparing a contract with additional provisions or recommending additional insurance. Whatever the advice is, it can help avoid construction litigation. And if litigation does occur, an experienced attorney can resolve it as quickly and affordably as possible.
Find out more about the question, what is construction litigation, by calling the Wilbanks Law Firm, P.C. at [nap_phone id=”LOCAL-REGULAR-NUMBER-2″].