Sewer Camera Inspections a must, Im getting sued!

[David A. Andersen]

I was in one-of-those-moods today!

Sorry!

[Larry D. Kage]

Originally Posted by dandersen

I was in one-of-those-moods today!

Sorry!

Well, okay, but let it happen again.

[Jack L. Gilleland]

Next time your in one of those moods make sure you are on the board. Good Post.

[jbettencourt]

John,

If this is actually happening to you , I feel for you and I am sorry for my earlier post but you can understand how some of us could be skeptical. With the apparent threat of lawsuits now I have developed a new Home Inspection Checklist.
Plumbing: Please Contact Plumber for evaluation
Electrical: Please Contact Electrician for evaluation
Roofing: Please Contact roofer for evaluation
Structure: Please Contact Engineer for Evaluation
HVAC: Please Contact HVAC Technician for Evaluation
Insulation: Please call insulating company for evaluation
Etc. You guys get my point.

The problem is that because almost all of these cases are settled and not fought in court even though the inspector is RIGHT and probably not at fault, a precedent never gets set, which most courts of law look at when ruling in these cases. After some precedents got set and lawyers looked into cases and realized there was little chance of winning or recovering much money then eventually fewer of these cases come up. Unfortunately the E&O insurance providers determination to settle to save the money ends up helping to assist in the proliferation of these absurd lawsuits and in the long run actually costs more money! However we pay the premiums, so how else can they keep inflated rates without this artificially inflated threat of lawsuits. Sorry but that is my rant for today.

[lolsen]

David

This might be a little off topic but
Do you produce your reports on-sight?
If the report is what counts we should not produce reports on-sight reports.

Thanks
Lawrence

[Doug Edwards]

What Dave said is so important. The HI has to manage their liability. It is not enough to make friends with every customer and hope nothing ever pops up to bite them. When it comes to paying for unseen repairs the friendship will likely go out the window. Especially if it is going to cost some heavy money. The HI has to be cognizant of what the house is telling him or her. If you go out to inspect a 50 year old house there are some pretty reasonable expectations. You are more than likely going to find a lot of issues both seen and unseen. In that case it might be prudent to discuss with the prospective homeowner the very real likelihood of there being lots of unseen problems. I have found the old houses tell a story. If you are observant you can see when and where people screwed up trying to correct problems and often made the problems worse or created new ones. But it can happen on any house. This is why I rarely schedule more than one inspection a day. I do not want to be rushed and refuse to be hurried along by others, take lots of pictures regardless if I intend to use them all or not. Most are for me not the customer. They help me build the report summary. I do not get in a hurry to get the report back to the customer either. I am about 99% of the time able to get it to them by the next day but if it means the difference of being right or being fast I take the extra time. All it has ever taken is a phone call to explain I want to pour over the findings some more for them. Never had one yet get pissy about it, in fact just the opposite. Being the fastest doesn't necessarily equate to being the best (in many things). I can't number the times I have decided to check just one more thing or make just a little more effort to find that hidden problem. It is always going to be in the one place you do not want to venture into or take the time to check.

[Richard L. Bennett]

Doug

And how many time have you seen something in a picture that you did not see on site.

In my case many time

Your point is made

rlb

[Doug Edwards]

Richard,
Great point...too many times. In a dark crawl space or attic you often can not see it but once it is revealed due to the flash on the screen you see it for the first time. Plus you can zoom in on something in the background as well. Thanks!

[William J. Decker]

State and NACHI SOP specifically disclaims underground plumbing and pipes.

If they can't read, that is not your problem.

That said, if it is an older (over 10 years old) and has trees between the house and the street, I explain about tree roots and all.

I have been dragged into court, twice, for things I supposedly missed.

Both times, at the pre-trial hearing, it was found that both the client AND THEY LAWYERS!!! never actually read the report. Both times, I called out the specific issue that they were sueing me for.

Both times, the case was dismissed and the plaintif's were ordered to pay my lawyer's fees and my time-off-work expenses.

I am currently working with a client, in a high priced area, with underground piping for the downspouts. The downspouts are backing up, from the underground piping.

Seems that the sump pump WAS drained away from the house, but the previous owner didn't like that (looked ugly) and connected the sump drain pipe to a PVC drain that he connected to the downspout underground drains.

He thought that the downspout drains were just connected to the sewer.

But, that is not allowed in this area.

And, the downspout drains were connected to the drain tiles.

So, it's just one long circular cycle. Snow and rain drain off the roof, underground, into the drain tiles and into the sump.

The sump then drains them to a pipe which is connected to the downspout underground drains and right back into the sump

And so on....

I will be going back, tomorrow, and explaining to the client, the plumber, the former owner and the drain installation people, that all they have to do is connect a 30' flex pipe to the sump drain and take it to the back yard. Come summer, they can dig a french drain, like they should have in the first place.

Sometimes, we just have to help all these people coordinate their efforts.

Some people are just plain silly

Licensing does solve some things (like REALLY stupid lawyers)

Hope this helps;

[David A. Andersen]

Do you produce your reports on-sight?

Not only do I not do the report on site, I won't even do it on the same day!
I won't send the report until the following morning after I have a good night sleep and a cup of coffee.

I advise my clients upfront of this and have never had any complaints yet.
There are those that wait until the 11th hour to get the inspection done. For those, I give a discrepancy list and they can take some notes. The report still comes the following day before 9:00 a.m. (that's when realtors get out of bed)

I don't how many times I have changed my mind overnight and see things in a different perspective in the morning.

[Jack L. Gilleland]

My camera is an invaluable tool. I've never done an inspection that I didn't find something in the pictures that I didn't see in person.