Journal of American Law

SPRING 2015

The Journal of American Law is a peer-reviewed journal and the only one of its kind in the country. The Journal is a law review focused on important legal issues ranging from complex litigation to Supreme Court rulings.

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42 Journal of American Law // Spring 2015 his accident. 4 Tyson employs a staf of architects and engi- neers who design and administer its capital projects, includ- ing the project at issue. Although it was the property owner, Tyson asserted that because it also was the project engineer, it was insulated from Martinez's tort claims under Oklaho- ma's workers' compensation immunity provision for design professionals. Based on the undisputed evidence that Tyson's engineers were supporting the construction process, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma applied the immunity provision and granted Tyson's motion for sum- mary judgment. Te source for most of the design professional immunity statutes is the "Model Architect and Engineers Liability Laws," which is prepared and endorsed by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Consulting Engineers Council, the American Institute of Architects, and the National Society of Professional Engineers, to wit: Except as provided in the workers' compensation act, no registered architect or professional engineer who is retained to perform professional services re- lating to a construction project, nor any employee of a registered architect or professional engineer who is assisting or representing the registered archi- tect or professional engineer in the performance of professional services on the site of the construction project, shall be liable for any injury on the con- struction project for which compensation is recov- erable under the workers' compensation statute, un- less responsibility for safety practices is specifcally assumed by contract. Te immunity provided by this section shall not apply to willful misconduct or gross negligence in the preparation of design plans or specifcations. 5 Although the latest version of the model law was adopted in July 2000 (revised July 2010), the states have been slow to adopt the model rules. Only 15 states thus far have adopted design professional immunity. national Survey Te following states have enacted design professional immu- nity as a component of their workers' compensation scheme: 4 Contrary to his allegations, witness testimony established that work site conditions did not play a role in Martinez's accident; rather, his negligent failure to tie of the safety line on his harness resulted in his unarrested fall. 5 Model Laws prepared and endorsed by the American Institute of Architects, American Consulting Engineers Council, American Society of Civil Engineers, and the National Society of Profession- al Engineers. See https://info.aia.org/SGNActionToolKit/2010/ liability/Model%20A-E%20Liability%20Law.pdf. Alaska—Alaska Stat. §23.30.017(a)-(c): (a) A person entitled to compensation under this chapter as a result of injury occurring at the job site of a construction project may not bring a civil action to recover damages for that injury against a design professional or an employee of a design professional who provides professional services for the construction project. (b) Tis section does not apply to a person receiving compensation under this chapter who is injured at a job site at which the design professional or employee of the design professional. (1) specifcally assumed responsibility for job site safety practices under a contract; (2) actually exercises control over the premises where the injury occurred; or (3) prepared design plans or specifcations, the plans or specifcations contributed to the injury, and the plans or specifcations were prepared negligently, recklessly, or with in- tentional misconduct. (c) In this section, (1) "design professional" means a person regis- tered under AS 08.48 as an architect, engi- neer, or land surveyor; (2) "professional services" means services provided by a design professional that are within the scope of services for which the design professional is registered. Connecticut—Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-293(c): Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, no construction design profession- al who is retained to perform professional services on a construction project, or any employee of a construction design professional who is assisting or representing the construction design profes- sional in the performance of professional services on the site of the construction project, shall be liable for any injury on the construction project for which compensation is payable under the pro- visions of this chapter, unless responsibility for safety practices is specifically assumed by con- tract. The immunity provided by this subsection to any construction design professional shall not apply to the negligent preparation of design plans or specifications. For the purposes of this subsec- tion "construction design professional" means (1) any person licensed as an architect under the pro- visions of chapter 390, (2) any person licensed, or exempted from licensure, as an engineer under the provisions of chapter 391, or (3) any corporation organized to render professional services through the practice of either or both of such professions in this state.

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