{"id":899,"date":"2012-10-23T11:46:57","date_gmt":"2012-10-23T17:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=899"},"modified":"2012-10-23T11:46:57","modified_gmt":"2012-10-23T17:46:57","slug":"200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"200 Million Reasons Why Waivers of Subrogation Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"

David P. Hattery – October 2, 2012<\/p>\n

When negotiating contracts with a client, sometimes their eyes roll when we come to the section on insurance, particularly that awkward phrase, \u201cwaiver of subrogation.\u201d\u00a0What is subrogation and what does it mean to waive it?\u00a0Simply put, subrogation is the right of a party, typically an insurance company, to pay a loss then sue the party or parties who are liable for the loss.\u00a0A waiver of subrogation precludes an insurer from such an action.<\/p>\n

A recent case in Connecticut illustrates the importance of the subrogation waiver.\u00a0On February 7, 2010 a natural gas explosion killed five, injured a dozen more and caused extensive damage to a power plant under construction.<\/p>\n

The accident occurred during a \u201cgas blow,\u201d which is a commissioning procedure whereby natural gas is forced through the plant piping at a high rate in an effort to clean out the gas supply lines to the gas turbine.\u00a0These operations are perilous because any spark from such debris or from static electricity can ignite the gas.\u00a0Here, the gas was discharged into a confined area, where workers were engaged in welding and other activities.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, lawsuits followed.\u00a0The facility owner\u2019s insurance carrier ultimately paid approximately $200 million in settlement of claims.\u00a0The carrier then sued the subcontractors, the gas turbine manufacturer, and the sellers and transporters of the natural gas.\u00a0The defendants denied liability and moved for dismissal based in part on language in the contract that explicitly waived the carrier\u2019s right of subrogation.\u00a0Among other theories, the carrier argued that the accident was caused by the recklessness of the subcontractors, which rendered the waiver of subrogation void as against public policy.\u00a0Last Friday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut ruled on the motions to dismiss.<\/p>\n

In language that must have given the subcontractors pause, the court found that the plaintiffs\u2019 allegations supported a finding of recklessness.\u00a0The court based this finding on allegations that, despite knowing that the gas blow process was inherently dangerous, the subcontractors designed the gas blows for discharge into a confined space with numerous sources of ignition.\u00a0They also failed to follow their own commissioning procedures, lacked experience and expertise regarding the gas blow process, failed to modify the process after being warned of the dangers associated with discharge into a confined space, and discharged an employee because he attempted to develop a safer procedure.<\/p>\n

The court found that the waiver of subrogation was valid and enforceable, and then had to squarely address the issue of whether public policy requires a different result in cases of recklessness and strict liability.\u00a0Drawing a distinction between claims in a setting that would leave tort victims without compensation and situations like this that would leave an insurance carrier without reimbursement from a third party for an otherwise covered loss, the court found no public policy in favor of the carrier:\u00a0\u201c[T]he plaintiffs knowingly agreed to insure the construction of the Kleen Plant and neither the construction contract nor the insurance policy provided an exception or exclusion for reckless or ultrahazardous conduct.\u201d\u00a0The carrier\u2019s claims against the subcontractor for subrogation were dismissed.<\/p>\n

via 200 million reasons why waivers of subrogation matter – Lexology<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David P. Hattery – October 2, 2012 When negotiating contracts with a client, sometimes their eyes roll when we come to the section on insurance, particularly that awkward phrase, \u201cwaiver of subrogation.\u201d\u00a0What is subrogation and what does it mean to waive it?\u00a0Simply put, subrogation is the right of a party, typically an insurance company, to… Continue reading 200 Million Reasons Why Waivers of Subrogation Matter<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[233,234],"class_list":["post-899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insurance-claims","tag-subrogation","tag-waiver-of-subrogation","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n200 Million Reasons Why Waivers of Subrogation Matter - Advise & Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"200 Million Reasons Why Waivers of Subrogation Matter - Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"David P. Hattery – October 2, 2012 When negotiating contracts with a client, sometimes their eyes roll when we come to the section on insurance, particularly that awkward phrase, \u201cwaiver of subrogation.\u201d\u00a0What is subrogation and what does it mean to waive it?\u00a0Simply put, subrogation is the right of a party, typically an insurance company, to… Continue reading 200 Million Reasons Why Waivers of Subrogation Matter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-10-23T17:46:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\"},\"headline\":\"200 Million Reasons Why Waivers of Subrogation Matter\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-10-23T17:46:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/\"},\"wordCount\":544,\"commentCount\":3,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Subrogation\",\"Waiver of Subrogation\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Insurance Claims\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/\",\"name\":\"200 Million Reasons Why Waivers of Subrogation Matter - Advise & Consult, Inc.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-10-23T17:46:57+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Advise & Consult, Inc.\",\"description\":\"Construction Expert Witnesses\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Advise & Consult\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"width\":162,\"height\":75,\"caption\":\"Advise & Consult\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"200 Million Reasons Why Waivers of Subrogation Matter - Advise & Consult, Inc.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"200 Million Reasons Why Waivers of Subrogation Matter - Advise & Consult, Inc.","og_description":"David P. Hattery – October 2, 2012 When negotiating contracts with a client, sometimes their eyes roll when we come to the section on insurance, particularly that awkward phrase, \u201cwaiver of subrogation.\u201d\u00a0What is subrogation and what does it mean to waive it?\u00a0Simply put, subrogation is the right of a party, typically an insurance company, to… Continue reading 200 Million Reasons Why Waivers of Subrogation Matter","og_url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/","og_site_name":"Advise & Consult, Inc.","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","article_published_time":"2012-10-23T17:46:57+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adviseconsult","twitter_site":"@adviseconsult","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7"},"headline":"200 Million Reasons Why Waivers of Subrogation Matter","datePublished":"2012-10-23T17:46:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/"},"wordCount":544,"commentCount":3,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Subrogation","Waiver of Subrogation"],"articleSection":["Insurance Claims"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/","name":"200 Million Reasons Why Waivers of Subrogation Matter - Advise & Consult, Inc.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-10-23T17:46:57+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/200-million-reasons-why-waivers-of-subrogation-matter\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","name":"Advise & Consult, Inc.","description":"Construction Expert Witnesses","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Advise & Consult","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","width":162,"height":75,"caption":"Advise & Consult"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2ztG6-ev","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}