Consultant Liability in Infrastructure Inspection Failures

Posted on: September 23, 2025 by Huntersure

When infrastructure fails, the aftermath often brings questions of accountability. For consultants involved in design, engineering, and inspection, even one missed detail can lead to scrutiny and costly legal action. These professionals are relied upon to keep projects safe and compliant. But when something goes wrong, they may find themselves at the center of litigation. For insurance agents, it’s essential to guide these clients toward professional liability for design, engineering, and inspection consultants that is built specifically for their exposures.

What Legal Risks Do Consultants Face During Inspection Failures?

Inspection-related claims frequently involve negligence, breach of duty, or disputes over contract terms. Real-world cases illustrate the risks:

  • Fern Hollow Bridge (2022): This bridge collapsed in Pittsburgh after years of documented inspection warnings. Lawsuits followed against the city and consulting firms, highlighting how liability can extend to inspection practices.
  • Florida International University Pedestrian Bridge (2018): A fatal pedestrian bridge collapse related to design errors resulted in more than $100 million in settlements tied to professional liability claims.

For consultants, these outcomes show how oversights can have severe and costly consequences. Without professional liability insurance, many firms would be unprepared for the financial and reputational consequences.

The Financial Strain & How Agents Can Reassure Clients

Defending a claim tied to an inspection failure involves significant costs long before a settlement or judgment is reached. Attorneys, expert witnesses, and drawn-out litigation can quickly erode a firm’s resources.

Agents can show clients how professional liability for design, engineering, and inspection consultants helps cover these expenses. With tailored coverage, firms can continue projects, protect their reputations, and maintain financial stability even while addressing claims.

Why Tailored Coverage Matters

Consultants who handle design, engineering, and inspection work face exposures that standard errors and omissions policies don’t fully address. Huntersure built its program to close those gaps and give agents confidence that clients have the protection they need.

Program features include:

  • Policy limits up to $2 million for primary coverage and $3 million for excess coverage
  • Contingent bodily injury/property damage coverage
  • Project-specific coverage
  • Tailored service descriptions for each unique risk
  • Options for non-licensed architectural and engineering consultants
  • Worldwide coverage with a straightforward claims-made application

This coverage protects consultants against third-party injury, loss, or damage that results from a professional error. It also pays defense costs, damages, and compensation. Agents can use these features to show clients how professional liability for design, engineering, and inspection consultants keeps their operations secure when inspection failures lead to legal action.

Professional Liability as a Tool for Client Retention

Agents who anticipate inspection liability risks strengthen client relationships and position themselves as partners, not just policy providers. By aligning clients with professional liability for design, engineering, and inspection consultants, agents help ensure coverage is comprehensive, relevant, and responsive to real-world exposures. This proactive approach safeguards firms and reinforces loyalty in a competitive insurance market.

Reach out to Huntersure for a quote, and help your clients secure liability protection that keeps pace with their responsibilities in infrastructure oversight.

About Huntersure

Huntersure LLC is a full-service Managing General Agency that has provided insurance program administration for professional liability products to our partners across the United States since 2007. We specialize in providing insurance solutions for businesses of all sizes. Our program features can cover small firms (grossing $2.5 million annually) to large corporations (grossing $25 million annually or more). We make doing business with us easy with our breadth and depth of knowledge of E&O insurance, our proprietary underwriting system that allows for responsive quoting, binding, and policy issuance and tailored products to meet the needs of your insureds. Give us a call at (855) 585-6255 to learn more.

Posted in: Consultants Professional Liability Insurance