Water well testing

[Peter C. Russell]

Originally Posted by jbushart

At the certification class I took on well water sampling and testing, we were advised by the instructor (Joe Farsetta) to have the lab fees paid for directly by the client in a separate check. We were to deliver the sample, with the client's check, to the lab. That way, should there be any harmful toxins that were not detected by the lab and reported to the client...it is strictly a matter between the client and the lab... since I was neither paid for nor provided the errant results.

I always felt that this was good advice.

Have you ever heard of a case where the lab missed something? Just asking because I haven't.

For discussion purposes, why would the inspector be liable for lab testing errors or omissions?

[Joseph Hagarty, CMI]

Originally Posted by prussell

Have you ever heard of a case where the lab missed something? Just asking because I haven't.

I have never heard or seen such a case.

Originally Posted by prussell

For discussion purposes, why would the inspector be liable for lab testing errors or omissions?

Anyone can be sued for any reason at any time.
Can an Inspector be sued for a water test error made by the Laboratory? .... Yes
Will the Client prevail? .... No

[James H. Bushart]

Originally Posted by prussell

Have you ever heard of a case where the lab missed something? Just asking because I haven't.

For discussion purposes, why would the inspector be liable for lab testing errors or omissions?

For the purpose of discussion....certain chemicals used in animal fertilizer can keep the blood cells from carrying oxygen. Baby formula that contains well water with runoff with these chemicals can cause infants to suffer brain damage or death. Well water lab results that did not pick up this chemical or were delayed ... that result in such damages ... that were paid for with a check made "payable to Inspector Jones" could cause Inspector Jones a bit of trouble. Wouldn't you say?

I never heard of AIDS until it started killing people. My not having heard of something is a poor indicator of possibility, dontcha think? Labs make mistakes every day. An error rate of .5% is still 50 mistakes for every 10000 tests.

Assume whatever risk the extra $140 means to you. I will do the same. Nobody is forced to mirror their businesses after others.

[James H. Bushart]

Originally Posted by jhagarty

I have never heard or seen such a case.



Anyone can be sued for any reason at any time.
Can an Inspector be sued for a water test error made by the Laboratory? .... Yes
Will the Client prevail? .... No

LOL.

Which is it? You never heard of anyone being sued ... or you have evidence of fact that a client will not prevail?

Or....is this just conjecture on your part?

[Joseph Hagarty, CMI]

Originally Posted by jbushart

LOL.

Which is it? You never heard of anyone being sued ... or you have evidence of fact that a client will not prevail?

Or....is this just conjecture on your part?

There are many offerings of a Well Test.

There are FHA/VA series offerings (mostly for mortgage satisfaction)
and specific Municipal County requirements.

A Hydrocarbon / VOC test can also be ordered (at additional fees)

The IOA Contract specifies which Series of Testing is Contracted.

If a Client subsequently finds a contaminant present that was not contracted to be analyzed, can they sue?

Answer is Yes.

Will the Client prevail?

Answer is No... Because the contaminant found would not have been Contracted and/or Paid for to be Analyzed and Detected.

Our Office does not offer 1 form of H2O Test Series.
Well Series Testing for our Office starts at a Fee of $200 and can exceed $1500 +

The elements subject to analysis are at the discretion of the Client.

[Jeffrey R. Jonas]

Originally Posted by jhagarty

Well Series Testing for our Office starts at a Fee of $200 and can exceed $1500 +

This is exactly why I asked Peter what was included in his "standard" testing, as it seems very, uh... affordable.

I was researching Lab's a couple of years ago, and found Joe H.'s pricing to be very realistic. The Lab fee's for the FHA required series of tests averaged almost $300.

[James H. Bushart]

Originally Posted by jhagarty

There are many offerings of a Well Test.

There are FHA/VA series offerings (mostly for mortgage satisfaction)
and specific Municipal County requirements.

A Hydrocarbon / VOC test can also be ordered (at additional fees)

The IOA Contract specifies which Series of Testing is Contracted.

If a Client subsequently finds a contaminant present that was not contracted to be analyzed, can they sue?

Answer is Yes.

Will the Client prevail?

Answer is No... Because the contaminant found would not have been Contracted and/or Paid for to be Analyzed and Detected.

Our Office does not offer 1 form of H2O Test Series.
Well Series Testing for our Office starts at a Fee of $200 and can exceed $1500 +

The elements subject to analysis are at the discretion of the Client.

Whatever you do is fine with me. I simply passed on some good advice that we received in our class.

When I hear about an inspector being sued...I check to see if it is me. When I determine it is not me and it is someone else - that pretty much ends my deep personal concern with the matter.

[Peter C. Russell]

Jeff, what is included in the FHA test you are speaking off?

[Jeffrey R. Jonas]

Originally Posted by prussell

Jeff, what is included in the FHA test you are speaking off?

I'll have to dig and see if I can locate the lab info for the pricing I stated. I lost all the links to that info when my computer fried two months ago. I'll try and get it tonight for you.

I currently do not perform any water testing (sampling) due to limited Labs in my area, and cost of the Lab work. If I could find a quality Lab that is approved by the counties and state, I could do a lot of testing/sampling. The cost is cheap for a homeowner to perform, as most all counties (agriculture) will test for free or close to it ($10-$15).

[Peter C. Russell]

Thanks Jeff, i would be interested in what you have. The lab I use is small as I said, husband and wife and quality control is extremely important to them. They are state approved and do water testing for many municipalities in the area.

The test I mentioned, that I charge $140.00 for meets all VA, HUD and federal guidelines.

I also inform my client what the test covers and send them a copy of the lab results.

As Joe said, anybody can be sued. I have been inspecting and taking water samples in NH since 1995, also my girlfriend works for DES, sub surface bureau and neither of us have heard of a lawsuit in NH stemming from an error or omission from a lab.

Good subject, I enjoy hearing other inspectors opinions about it.

[Joseph Hagarty, CMI]

Peter,

You just need to be clear which components are subject to testing.
Inquire if there are any particular areas of concern and offer additional testing (upsell) to satisfy those concerns.

[Peter C. Russell]

Thanks Joe, this is from NH DES. I cover everything they recommend in the standard test and add radon for an extra $85.00 if combined.

Here's the link to DES
http://des.nh.gov/organization/divis...ll_testing.pdf

[Jeffrey R. Jonas]

Peter,
I searched my external HD, and couldn't locate the link's. I can probably come up with a couple in a day or so. Just need time to research again. I did a quick Google search, and found this... (I thought it offered some interesting info and also found it amusing... almost felt like "home"). http://forum.brokeroutpost.com/loans/forum/2/299575.htm

[Peter C. Russell]

Jeff, thats funny, thanks. How many of you guys test for Arsenic? This is part of the standard test I offer. Here is a link to a good video about Arsenic in drinking water which was put out by Dartmouth.

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~toxmetal/p...ses/index.html