Liability law
You’d think the rule would be “the producer pays”. So if a company engages a contractor to renovate its head office and the roof later collapses, the party that built the roof, i.e. the contractor, should reimburse the loss. That may appear obvious, but it certainly isn’t in liability law practice. The structural engineer may have done a poor job. And at whose instructions was he working? Or the damage may be due to poor foundations of the building, which cannot reasonably be held against the contractor. Many reasons are conceivable as to why the producer need not always pay.
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Non-contractual liability
The situation is even more complex if there is damage but no contract. A good example is the Legionnella disaster at the Westfriese Flora in 1999, where 32 visitors of the flower exhibition died as a result of a poorly cleaned whirlpool bath. Who is responsible in that case? It took no less than eleven years to answer that question, which shows how difficult it is to draw the line in liability cases.
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Who is liable?
Certa Legal’s liability experts promote your interests in all matters involving liability on your part or on the part of a third party; for instance if goods are delivered to you that are not in conformity with the agreement and you consequently incur a loss, or if you as an employer are held liable for an accident at work. The latter is particularly relevant, since the New World of Work is increasingly taking place outside the employer’s immediate influence. But also if you have incurred loss, for instance as a result of a newly purchased ICT system that has proven susceptible to viruses, our liability law experts search for the optimal means of recovering your loss.
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Small print
In the case of a wrongful act such as that involved in the poorly cleaned whirlpool bath referred to above, which proved to be infected with Legionella, there is no contract to refer to. Even if there were such a contract, unforeseen circumstances may occur that are not covered, such as poor foundations. It is nevertheless essential to describe your liability and that of third parties in as much detail as possible in agreements, if only because your contracting party could invoke a (possibly unreasonable) limitation of liability in the small print. Certa Legal’s lawyers are pleased to draw up contracts and agreements for you and to advise on all the risks involved. We can also assess and draft exoneration clauses in which liability can be limited.
