Architects Seek Protection to Help After Natural Disasters

Architects in New York will once again seek legal protection from being sued for professional liability for pro bono work after a natural disaster.

Last year, the American Institute of Architects’ New York State chapter sought the passage of a bill that would protect architects under a “Good Samaritan” law. Good Samaritan laws give immunity to those who help in an emergency situations.

“We look at it as a community protection,” Georgi Bailey, executive director of AIA New York State, said. “Your neighbor down the street, maybe something has happened—well, the most recent [disaster] was Hurricane Sandy—and your neighbor wants to know if he can get back into his house. If the architect has the expertise to give them guidance, what we’re looking for is a protection for those volunteers once a disaster hits.”

The bill, The Good Samaritan Act, passed the state Senate during the 2014 legislative session, but it failed in the Assembly. The AIA's state chapter opposed the Assembly bill language because the organization felt it was too vague and would not adequately protect architects.  

 “We felt if we accepted the language the Assembly had wanted to put in … it would provide a false sense of security and wouldn’t really protect [architects],” Bailey said. “We came close, we thought, this year, but didn’t quite make it.”

Bailey said 30 states currently have similar laws. The bill not only apply to licensed architects, but also engineers and landscape architects.  

AIA New York State plans to once again push for the passage of the bill in the 2015 legislative session.