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The Claims-Free Architect
The Claims-Free Architect episodes
- $300,000 Settlement After He "Stepped Into Space"
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What happens when a casino patron goes through an exit door to take in the view from the landing—but no landing has ever been built?
In this gripping tale involving a missing exit stair at the Wendover Slots & Casino, you will discover how one overlooked detail during final reviews can trigger a near-fatal fall, expensive litigation, and hard-won lessons for every architect on the importance of rigorous site reviews.
Connect with Pro-Demnity:
- Leave a Review
- Follow us on LinkedIn
- Access our Risk Education Library
- Speak with a Risk Services Expert if you’re an Ontario architect seeking guidance for a risk management issue.
Thank you for listening.
19 min - Unpaid, Then Countersued for $30M in the Land of Outstretched Palms
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What happens when a Canadian architectural firm completes a university project on a Caribbean island, then claims against the client for unpaid fees, only to face a barrage of fabricated criminal charges and a grotesque counterclaim designed to conceal corruption?
In this episode, we discover how political intrigue, outstretched palms, and a surprise election twist can turn unpaid fees into an international nightmare, and what architects can learn about protecting themselves when venturing into foreign lands.
Connect with Pro-Demnity:
- Leave a Review
- Follow us on LinkedIn
- Access our Risk Education Library
- Speak with a Risk Services Expert if you’re an Ontario architect seeking guidance for a risk management issue.
Thank you for listening.
26 min - Their Last Commission Was a Retirement Home. Then Came the $8 Million Claim.
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What happens when two aging architects take on one final retirement home commission for a penny-pinching developer who cuts every corner possible?
In this sad tale, the project spirals into code violations and an $8 million claim, yet a tragic twist and courtroom revelations ultimately spare the architects’ tiny estates from ruin, revealing hard truths about fees, health, and hand-over risks.Connect with Pro-Demnity:
- Leave a Review
- Follow us on LinkedIn
- Access our Risk Education Library
- Speak with a Risk Services Expert if you’re an Ontario architect seeking guidance for a risk management issue.
Thank you for listening.
26 min - “A Shambles!”: $1.4 Million in Fees — Budget Never Shared With the Architect
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What happens when an architect believes that a wealthy client’s “money is no object” assurance on a commission for a dream lakeside resort, results in chaos?
In this episode we discover how unchecked hourly billing, endless design changes, and unspoken budgets can turn a glamorous project into a million-dollar, protracted legal ordeal.Connect with Pro-Demnity:
- Leave a Review
- Follow us on LinkedIn
- Access our Risk Education Library
- Speak with a Risk Services Expert if you’re an Ontario architect seeking guidance for a risk management issue.
Thank you for listening.
26 min - $2 Million Extra for a Dock That Couldn't Handle Trucks
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What happens when a freight forwarding giant hires architects to modernize its loading docks, only for the entire operation to grind to a halt due to a myriad of compounding design blunders?
In this episode, you’ll discover how overlooked vehicle clearances and poor coordination turned a routine upgrade into a multimillion-dollar fiasco—and the hard-won lessons that can keep any architect from repeating the same costly mistakes.Connect with Pro-Demnity:
- Leave a Review
- Follow us on LinkedIn
- Access our Risk Education Library
- Speak with a Risk Services Expert if you’re an Ontario architect seeking guidance for a risk management issue.
Thank you for listening.
21 min - How to Build a $1M Bonfire
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Can any single oversight turn a proud community building made of local wood and stone into the perfect bonfire?
In this story of a remote First Nations school and social centre that burned to ash the day of the opening, you’ll discover how cumulative failures in fire safety and emergency response can consume even the most thoughtfully designed structure.
Connect with Pro-Demnity:
- Leave a Review
- Follow us on LinkedIn
- Access our Risk Education Library
- Speak with a Risk Services Expert if you’re an Ontario architect seeking guidance for a risk management issue.
Thank you for listening.
15 min - If It Looks Wrong, It Might Be Wrong: An $18M Claim with an Old Friend and No Contract
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What happens when an architect designs a building for his old school friend, having no practical knowledge of what holds it up?
In this story, a handshake deal and blind trust in a questionable engineer turn a promising office park, into a multi-million-dollar quagmire, showing every architect why even the friendliest clients can lead to the costliest claims.
Connect with Pro-Demnity:
- Leave a Review
- Follow us on LinkedIn
- Access our Risk Education Library
- Speak with a Risk Services Expert if you’re an Ontario architect seeking guidance for a risk management issue.
Thank you for listening.
23 min - $1.8M Condo Claim Collapses to $15K After Ontario Architect Destroys the Plaintiffs' Case With Mere Facts
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What happens when a long-completed condo complex in Florida turns into a nightmarish web of racketeering charges, an arrest warrant, and a probable wedding-day police trap?
In this episode, you’ll discover how one residential project nearly cost Nathan Johnstone everything—until an astute legal defense and courtroom proceeding turned the tide, exposing the truth and revealing important lessons every architect must know before working across borders.
Connect with Pro-Demnity:
- Leave a Review
- Follow us on LinkedIn
- Access our Risk Education Library
- Speak with a Risk Services Expert if you’re an Ontario architect seeking guidance for a risk management issue.
Thank you for listening.
32 min - The "Perfect" Wine Cellar That Became a $5 Million Sauna
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What happens when a celebrated wine expert’s dream of a perfect climate-controlled cellar collapses into a multi-million-dollar disaster?
In this episode we discover how misplaced trust, overlooked warnings, and a failing mechanical system can ruin reputations and fortunes alike, revealing hard truths about professional responsibility that every architect must heed.
Connect with Pro-Demnity:
- Leave a Review
- Follow us on LinkedIn
- Access our Risk Education Library
- Speak with a Risk Services Expert if you’re an Ontario architect seeking guidance for a risk management issue.
Thank you for listening.
19 min - He Initialled the Clauses Without Reading Them – Then Faced Tens of Thousands a Day
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What happens when an architect steps into a highly specialized industrial project far beyond their expertise, guaranteeing outcomes they cannot control?
In this chilling tale of frozen assets, one firm’s modest extension job spirals into massive delays, exploding equipment, and a multimillion-dollar claim that reveals how quickly limited knowledge and a poorly reviewed contract can freeze an entire practice.
Connect with Pro-Demnity:
- Leave a Review
- Follow us on LinkedIn
- Access our Risk Education Library
- Speak with a Risk Services Expert if you’re an Ontario architect seeking guidance for a risk management issue.
Thank you for listening.
20 min
About The Claims-Free Architect
From the publisher's feed
Architects sometimes get blindsided by accusations of professional error, omission or negligence. They struggle with the hidden risks that come with running an architectural practice, as it can be…
devastating—professionally and personally—to invest countless hours in a project, only to face one claim that threatens everything.
Well, what if one could navigate these risks with confidence? What if architects could protect their practice and reputation while continuing to do what they love?
Welcome to "The Claims-Free Architect", formerly known as “Architects’ Claims Stories”, renamed to better reflect the podcast’s mission. Brought to you by
Pro-Demnity, a professional liability insurance company that has been protecting and defending architects for nearly four decades.
This season, every week for 14 weeks, you’ll hear stories that delve into real-world situations faced by architects. From these actual experiences, architects will gain the insights needed to identify potential risks and learn how to manage, minimize, mitigate, avoid or even accept them, and ultimately, better protect your architectural practice from claims.
Well, what if one could navigate these risks with confidence? What if architects could protect their practice and reputation while continuing to do what they love?
Welcome to "The Claims-Free Architect", formerly known as “Architects’ Claims Stories”, renamed to better reflect the podcast’s mission. Brought to you by
Pro-Demnity, a professional liability insurance company that has been protecting and defending architects for nearly four decades.
This season, every week for 14 weeks, you’ll hear stories that delve into real-world situations faced by architects. From these actual experiences, architects will gain the insights needed to identify potential risks and learn how to manage, minimize, mitigate, avoid or even accept them, and ultimately, better protect your architectural practice from claims.
If you’re a licensed, practicing architect, an architectural practice owner, an architectural intern, or a member of an architectural team, and you’re looking to avoid professional pitfalls, subscribe to "The Claims-Free Architect" wherever you get your podcasts. By tuning in, you’ll be well on your way to understanding risk and keeping your practice claims-free.
***The Claims-Free Architect Podcast is recognized by Canadian Architect magazine as one of the Best podcasts and films for Canadian architects: 2024 Edition ***