Design collapsed

A naval architect was appointed to oversee the design and build of a cradle to be used for the “slipping” of a floating restaurant out of the water for routine maintenance. The wheels of the cradle collapsed whilst the vessel was being removed from the water, resulting in a severe delay in the maintenance. The owners of the restaurant claimed damages from the naval architect, including the costs of the re-design and manufacture of a second cradle and loss of earnings whilst the restaurant was closed. ITIC entered into dialogue on the assessment of the damages and the true extent to which the failure of the cradle could be attributed to an error in design. The result was a partial settlement of the claim.