Peer Reviews

Reviewed Feb 2017 incorporating May 2014There is a potential risk that you will pick up – or share – the liability of the client or firm for whom you are doing a peer review.So you need to have that in mind when you take on the commission. NZACS supports the idea of firms engaging others for peer reviews, and has no wish to impede those who may be commissioned by a client or by another firm to do a peer review.We certainly don’t have a “one size fits all” answer to addressing the liability issues, but we do have some suggestions.

• If another firm calls you in to review their work, then you will be in a better position if you are indemnified by that firm; perhaps one way to do this would be to become a temporary (or seconded) employee of that firm. In that role you will be reviewing and commenting, not “checking”; think in terms of the usual guidance around shop drawing reviews.
• If you are engaged by the principal to review their consultant’s work, make it clear that you are advising, commenting and reviewing, but the responsibility remains with those consultants. You should be in a position to be able to communicate directly with the consultants and not necessarily be bound to reveal each and every detail of those communications to the principal. Of course it would be nice to be indemnified by the principal – but nothing is perfect!
• If a graduate (for example) asks for your help in doing a “PJ” and then (if it is a new/alteration house) requires you as an LBP or an architect to sign a document for the purposes of a building consent application, then you are assuming the responsibility for that work. If a claim arises a few years later, it is probable that the graduate will be non-contactable and/or without the resources to defend it or meet a prospective settlement. Any agreements with the original client will be of no effect in respect of a different owner. The position is really not a lot different to work being produced by an employee: the employer is responsible for the outputs of the office, and if you are not happy with the work, it should not “see the light of day”.
• When employees leave and go into business for themselves, you can help them by reminding them that risk is an unfortunate fact of life, they will need PI cover, and that NZACS is run by and for architects. They can find out most of what they need to know on our website. NZACS accepts that it may be possible to find cheaper PI insurance, but what you buy is the wording and response of the policy, not a piece of paper. If you never face the risk of a claim, a cheap policy makes sense, but if there is no risk, why have PI cover at all?