A review of 41 legal cases involving geotechnical practice in Canada.

This paper explores factors that contribute to claims of changed soil conditions in infrastructure and building projects through a limited review of Canadian legal cases. Forty-one cases, relating to geotechnical problems covering a period of 25 years (1982-2006), were studied. The information obtained was categorized according to the causes for geotechnical claims. The most frequent causes of geotechnical disputes were found to be different soil conditions and recommendations than expected from those given in the geotechnical report, inaccuracies in the design plans and specifications, and the owner's failure to disclose important information. The paper also discusses the special requirements for preparing geotechnical information for construction and suggests precautionary measures to reduce the number of disputes or to arrive at an equitable resolution. These measures require more proactive planning and may require additional funds before the bidding stage to perform a more detailed soil investigation, keep communication clear among all participants, and make a greater effort to provide accurate designs and specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]