Chapter 23 Design obligations and the duty to warn
In a design and construct contract, the contractor may be required to acknowledge that the specification, drawings or other design documentation prepared and/or provided by the principal may not be accurate and may contain omissions or deficiencies. The contractor assumes contractual responsibility for the design irrespective of this and is normally prevented from making a claim against the principal for any omissions or deficiencies.
The contractor will generally be required to notify the principal immediately of any omissions or deficiencies that the contractor identifies in the design or design documentation. The obligation to notify may extend to requiring the contractor to also provide a solution or alternative to the problem it has identified. If the duty to notify is not expressly stated in the contract, the duty may be implied.