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The Associated Press August 4, 1982, Wednesday, PM cycle, Washington Dateline, 545 words, By JEFFREY
MILLS, Associated Press Writer

Page 2
The Associated Press August 4, 1982, Wednesday, PM cycle

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The Associated Press
August 4, 1982, Wednesday, PM cycle
BYLINE: By JEFFREY MILLS, Associated Press
Writer
SECTION: Washington Dateline
LENGTH: 545 words
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
Architects and engineers should set up a system to
learn by the mistakes of their colleagues, a few of
which have caused fatal accidents, an attorney
specializing in liability cases involving buildings said
today.
"Little, if any, information on recent structural
failures has been made public," Barry LePatner,
who has represented many design professionals,
told
a
House
Science
and
Technology
subcommittee.
The panel is looking into causes of such failures as
the collapse of the pedestrian walkway at the Hyatt
Regency Hotel in Kansas City and the roof of the
Hartford Civic Center in Connecticut.
LePatner called on the nation's schools of
architecture and engineering to introduce courses
to analyze design and construction claims in much
the same way that graduate schools of business
study corporate failures and successes.
"It is through the mistakes of others that fledgling
architects and engineers can gain the insight and
foresight necessary to avoid their own errors in the
years ahead," he testified.

Architects said engineers and builders as well as

architects are plagued by legal "nuisance" claims.
He contrasted this to the situation 25 years ago
when design professionals had no responsibility to
the owner once a structure was finished.
"Design professionals now anticipate that they will
become involved in litigation whenever there is a
building failure _ regardless of the apparent cause
of the failure or the amount of time elapsed since
services were last performed on the project,"
Cooper said.
He said the number of legal claims against insured
architects and engineers has increased from 36
percent in 1978 to 45 percent in 1980. "This means
almost half of the insureds can expect to have a
claim in the next twelve months," he said.
Cooper said the association wants legislation to
permit architects and engineers to defer taxation of
revenue set aside to help pay for defending liability
suits.
The subcommittee is looking into design failures in
buildings. A staff investigation found that architects,
engineers and builders increasingly are restricting
their activities to the words of a contract as a way of
avoiding legal liability.
Chairman Albert Gore Jr., D-Tenn., said he will
introduce a bill to establish a federal repository of
information on structural failures in buildings.
"If someone wants to build a building similar to one
that failed, there is no repository of information on
what happened," Gore said.

LePatner also said organizations like the American

Institute of Architects and the National Society of
Professional Engineers could establish clinics and
seminars for members to learn from the mistakes of
others.

He pointed to such examples as the collapse of the

pedestrian walkway in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in
Kansas City last year and the collapse of the
Hartford Civic Center roof in Connecticut several
years ago.

In testimony Tuesday, architects, pointing to their

skyrocketing legal bills, said Congress should
provide them with a tax break to help pay the costs
of defending liability suits.

Cooper and Harold R. Sandberg of the American

Consulting Engineers Council agreed with Gore
about the need for an information clearinghouse.

Jerome M. Cooper of the American Institute of

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

Page 3
The Associated Press August 4, 1982, Wednesday, PM cycle

Copyright 1982 Associated Press

All Rights Reserved

---- End of Request ---Download Request: Current Document: 16

Time Of Request: Wednesday, November 26, 2014

11:28:43