A Florida federal judge has found architectural firm HKS liable for providing defective structural designs from its engineering subconsultant on a hospital project in Florida. The case involves expansion of an existing hospital in Lake Mary, Florida. The owner, Orlando Health, hired HKS as its architect, who in turn hired BBM Structural Engineers for the structural design. Several problems with the structural design plans were discovered during construction that required Orlando Health to incur significant remediation costs.
For example, the structural design plans in one area mistakenly omitted a top mat of rebar in a 12” concrete slab. The president of BBM initially admitted to the mistake in an email acknowledging that “[t]his is 100% our error.” BBM also issued revised drawings with a corrected plan note that referenced the required top mat of rebar reinforcement. Later, after the cost impact of the mistake became apparent, BBM reversed course and attempted to withdraw this admission at HKS’s urging.
The case proceeded to trial against HKS on this and other design defect issues. In its 38-page opinion, the court reviewed the testimony and plans in detail and concluded that HKS and BBM did in fact omit the required top mat of rebar. They further failed to catch the issue during approval of the contractor’s shop drawings. The court rejected HKS’s efforts to blame the contractor, Brasfield & Gorrie. The court found that these other design defects constituted a breach of the contract between Orlando Health and HKS. Even though that contract contemplated that HKS would engage an engineering subconsultant for the structural design, HKS remained contractually obligated to provide these services. The court therefore awarded Orlando Health approximately $3.3 million in damages against HKS.
A copy of the court’s opinion in Orlando Health v. HKS Architects, Inc., Case No. 6:24-cv-693-JA-LHP, 2026 WL 2938745 (M.D. Fla Sept. 30, 2026), is available here. HKS’s claims against BBM remain pending.