Experts in Construction Claim and Dispute Resolution: Roles and Liabilities

Abstract

As the threats of claims and disputes continue to affect construction projects, it is becoming increasingly important for parties to incorporate multi-step approaches for claim and dispute resolution in the conditions of the contract. Such multi-step approaches typically engage many participants during their phases, including various types of experts. While the literature thoroughly addresses some of the expert roles in the claim and dispute resolution process, it underemphasizes other roles. The main objective of this research is to develop the full spectrum of expert roles involved in the claim and dispute resolution process and determine their role requirements and involvement scenarios along the course of the process. The research also aims to study the experts’ exposure to liability (in case of negligence). In other words, the research intends to study the boundary of expert immunity from negligence liability.

The research methodology includes (1) defining the expert roles (or types of additional expertise) typically involved in the construction claim and dispute resolution process, (2) examining the scenarios of experts’ involvement, (3) mapping the expert roles along a standard timeline for construction claim and dispute resolution, and (4) determining the status of immunity of the different experts that are involved. The findings of the research reveal the main categories of experts that are entitled to immunity from negligence liability. By that, the research removed ambiguities related to the experts involved in the construction claim and dispute resolution process, specifically in regards to their types, the scope and nature of their involvement, and the status of their immunity against negligence liability.