In my former article, choosing a soil stabilization contractor, I suggested criteria to consider when choosing a specialized contractor to carry out the Engineer of Record’s (EOR) suggested stabilization plan. In that article we discussed, briefly, the normal steps of going through the sinkhole claim process, from the first observed warning signs or indicators of possible sinkhole conditions under your structure, through having the EOR devise a Stabilization Plan specific to your site and conditions. It is very important to understand that the original engineer that had oversight on the subsidence investigation has now become the “Engineer of Record”. It is this EOR’s ethical and legal responsibility to design the remediation plan that would provide a suitable stabilization repair plan for your structure based on the specifics of your soil and structure conditions. The word structure is used here because often insurers do not stabilize sinkholes in the yard or ground surrounding the structure, just the named structure in your policy. Sometimes however some insurers may do so, particularly if there is a liability concern of somebody falling into a hole.
The EOR’s Ethical And Legal Obligation
One of the first things to consider when choosing a reputable contractor is whether they are working under the direction of the above mentioned EOR. If you have not been “dropped”, “cashed out” or “paid the full limits” of coverage on your policy by your insurer, then this should not be a major concern to you because the insurer will use the EOR for engineering oversight of the stabilization process. However if you have been “cashed out” and the insurer has terminated your policy you should use caution when proceeding to your next step in the repair process. It is important to remain with the EOR because they have ethical and legal obligations to oversee that the stabilization work is performed in accordance to their specifications and they should do so without shortcuts to their stabilization plan. One of the purposes of the EOR process is to protect you the homeowner, the insurer, and any future purchaser of your structure from having what should be a proper stabilization plan that may cost, say $200,000 being replaced by a plan that may be insufficient or inferior and at only a fraction of the cost. That cheaper fix may not have addressed the “real” sinkhole or karst issue and it may be like just putting a Band-Aid on a cancer. You as the homeowner may think you found a great cheaper deal on the stabilization process but if the real sinkhole or karst conditions have not been stabilized properly it may be possible for future settlement or worse to continue. When attempting to get insurance coverage from a future insurer there could be major issues when they discover the EOR did not oversee the stabilization and the chain of stabilization permits pulled at the county level should expose that. The next future purchaser may think they are purchasing a structure that has sinkhole activity properly remediated, however they may realize it was just a Band-Aid if the karst issues have not been properly corrected. Should a future insurer not pick up on the fact the structure has not been properly stabilized with oversight from the EOR and proceed to insure the property, and if the ground continued to settle in the future, and that future homeowner makes an insurance claim, and then the insurer discovers it has not been properly stabilized by the EOR, there are possibilities for this to be a serious financial/legal problem for all parties involved.
The Point Of All This
Be wary of contractors who would lead you away from using the Engineer of Record as the overseer of the stabilization of your property. If you have been “cashed out” by the insurer, you may be overwhelmed with calls, visits, mailings etc. from contractors who would provide their own “engineering” to do your stabilization. Those engineers may come up with a “cheaper fix” or plan that would either not correct the karst conditions under your structure, possibly leaving your structure or valuables at risk, or they would not be in a legal position to sign and seal the work was completed by the EOR thereby possibly opening the door to legal/financial problems further down the road.
There are legal methods for an outside engineer to become the Engineer of Record and the process is described below. It is lengthy and requires the secondary engineer taking over legal responsibility of the EOR’s work. This involves recreating some of the work done by the original EOR, and assuming their discovery work is satisfactory and devising a plan of their own. If that new plan is far cheaper than the one the EOR developed, one may really wonder why the EOR did not use that cheaper plan if it really wasn’t a Band-Aid. It may sound very enticing but one must be very cautious.
Stay tuned as the next time we will discuss further items to consider when choosing a good specialty contractor for your sinkhole stabilization repairs.
