Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share The Claims-Free Architect
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
The Claims-Free Architect
The Claims-Free Architect episodes
- The Wonky Wall: How Coordination and Consultants Couldn't Save a Crumbling Heritage Structure
Send us Fan Mail
During the renovation of a historic building, intended to serve as a banquet hall, ancient walls crumble under new loads and chaos halts construction. Can an architect be liable when experts vouched for stability?
Uncover why old stones betray, how inspections save you, and why consultants matter.
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 - The Fake Granite Scandal: How One Architect Survived a $1.5M Lawsuit
Send us Fan Mail
In a chic gallery, where a floor’s dyed-blue “granite” inserts bleed like paint, a costly mess emerges. Can an architect be liable when fake granite fooled everyone?
Discover why materials can be deceiving, how testing them can save the day, and why friendships sometimes help solve disputes.
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.
24 min - How One Marble Threshold Taught This Architect a $450K Lesson
Send us Fan Mail
In a lavish hotel suite where a marble threshold trips the host, a painful fall sparks a million-dollar claim. Can an architect be liable despite code compliance?
Learn why safety is more important than style, how well-crafted details can help your defense, and why juries favor sympathy.
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.
22 min - When ‘Affordable’ Housing Becomes a Liability Trap
Send us Fan Mail
In a rural co-op where mold and rot ruin homes, neglect and the lack of a maintenance budget, highlight the cheap construction. Can the architect be liable for this decay, years after completion?
Learn why maintenance matters, how durable construction saves money in the long term, and why empathy often bests arrogance.
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.
24 min - When Hurt Feelings Become Lawsuits
Send us Fan Mail
In a quiet neighborhood, when a client’s home addition blocks a neighbor’s cherished view and light, tensions flare into a legal showdown. Can an architect be liable for this neighbour’s loss ?
Learn how miscommunications fuel disputes, and how sympathetic mediation can save the day.
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 - Why “Wearing Too Many Hats” Could Destroy Your Practice
Send us Fan Mail
In a condo venture, an architect juggles roles as promoter, developer, builder, and financier, while cracking columns threaten structural collapse and financial ruin. Can the architect wearing multiple hats be liable for this project’s failures?
Find out how “role overload” courts disaster, poor coordination sparks lawsuits, and clear contracts can provide a lifeline.
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 - Why Copying Designs Could Cost You Your License
Send us Fan Mail
On a project where an architect copies another’s drawings without permission, detailing problems create leaks and fire hazards. Can an architect be liable for defects stemming from plagiarized plans?
You’ll learn why copying someone else’s designs spells trouble, how skimpy reviews lead to lawsuits, and why ethics are your best defense.
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 - Why an Architect’s Implicit Trust in a Builder-Developer Led to a Legal Nightmare
Send us Fan Mail
In a condo project where a brash developer cuts corners and ignores warnings, code violations force residents to evacuate their new homes. Can an architect be liable for these flaws when only hired to sign-off on lenders’ certificates?
Discover how signing lenders’ certificates carries risks, why documenting deficiencies is your armour, and how to stand firm against rogue developers.
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.
28 min - When “Following Orders” Conflicts with the Architect's Duty of Care
Send us Fan Mail
In a mid-rise office project, an architect’s risky plan to start construction on a 10-storey building based on a permit for 5-storeys, grinds to a halt when the building inspector issues a stop work order. Can the architect be liable for these costly delays due to miscommunication?
Learn why missing records can sink you, how translators keep you safe, and why risky actions are best avoided.
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 - The $530,000 Claim That Almost Ruined a Retired Architect
Send us Fan Mail
In a small-town project for a charitable service club, a local contractor unilaterally swaps robust design elements for flimsy substitutes. The clubhouse ends up on the verge of collapse decades later. Can an architect be held liable for this failure when the contractor ignored their plans without anyone’s approval?
Find out how refusing free reviews saves you, why contractor shortcuts spell disaster, and how to avoid liability, years down the line.
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
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 ***