Reflective Log 2: Landscape Professional Practice and Law

Your landscape practice receives a letter of complaint relating to a completed project. The landscape architect that led the project no longer works at your practice.

• What processes should your practice have in place to deal with such a complaint?

• What processes should your practice have in place to prevent future complaints?

“‘Liability’ refers to the obligation to pay damages when things go wrong. There are several types of liability which may concern the landscape architect, including liability in contract, liability as a member of a practice, an employer or employee, statutory liability, liability as an occupier, vicarious liability, liability as a professional, and liability in tort”. If a dispute arises in the landscape profession, it is possible and even probable that a landscape architect could be simultaneously liable both in tort and contract (and indeed other forms of liability) for a single offence. For example, incompetent design could be in breach of contract and constitute negligence (e.g., subsequent defects) and say, implicate the practice (Garmory, N., 2016).

If my landscape practice receives a complaint about a completed project, it means that the client or claimant believes that there is an issue relating to the project and may claim that there is a breach of contract or tort. So, an employee may be sued personally for negligence, or the practice may be liable. Usually, a claimant does not sue an individual because they know that the employer is likely to carry professional indemnity insurance (PII), and as an individual is unlikely to have sufficient funds to meet a claim, most commercial organisations would prefer not to sue individuals. Therefore, a problem is only likely to arise if the employer or previous employer does not carry PII (Garmory, N., 2016). That being the case, it is essential for my practice to have a Professional indemnity insurance to deal with a complaint raised against an employee, whether he/she is still in the practice or has left.

“Professional indemnity insurance (PII) is a cover against allegations of breach of duty of care. Should legal liabilities be established against a professional, PI insurance will, subject to its terms and conditions, pay for the damages together with any costs awarded against the defendant”. (Garmory, N., 2016). The Landscape Institute and local authorities require registered practices to have Professional Indemnity Insurance, as this insurance guarantees that practices have adequate funds to meet their f inancial obligations in case of an action for negligence brought against them. It is a Landscape Institute rule that, to be registered with the Institute, practices must have evidence of adequate PI insurance, and rule 5 of the Landscape Institute code of conduct states that “you must have appropriate Professional Indemnity Insurance covering relevant landscape services”, and this is linked to the Global Ethical Principle 4 (Landscape Institute, 2021). The practice will continue to indemnify a landscape architect after they have left or retired. Usually, PII is paid for a maximum of 12-15 years after the completion of the last project, on a decreasing scale, if the practice ceases due to death or retirement of a partner (Garmory, N., 2016).

To prevent a similar complaint in the future, the landscape practice can employ some processes. First, the practice can maintain detailed records of all project related communications, agreements and changes through documentation. So, all aspects of the project, including design plans, contracts, and client approvals should be included in the documents. Furthermore, the designs should be regularly reviewed, including materials and construction processes, as a system of quality control checks throughout the lifecycle of the project. Secondly, the practice must stimulate transparent communications with clients throughout the project by regularly updating them on the progress of projects, involving them in the decision-making process, and addressing any concerns expeditiously. At the end of the project, post-project evaluations and follow-ups with the client should be conducted to gather feedback on their overall satisfaction with the project and identify areas for improvement. Finally, the practice must stay informed with relevant laws, regulations and industry standards and adhere to them to avoid any potential disputes or complaints.

References

Garmory et al. (2016). ‘Professional Practice for landscape architects’. Personal liabilities of employees, pp. 22

Garmory et al. (2016). ‘Professional Practice for landscape architects’. Liabilities, pp. 18 Garmory et al. (2016). ‘Professional Practice for landscape architects’. What is PII, pp. 42 Garmory et al. (2016). ‘Professional Practice for landscape architects. Why insurance? pp. 42

Landscape Institute (2021). ‘The landscape Institute code of practice’. The rules – in detail, pp. 9