Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
A federal judge awarded Orlando Health approximately $3.3 million after finding that HKS Architects breached its contract through structural design and construction-administration failures on a hospital project in Lake Mary, Florida. The ruling followed a bench trial; it was a construction-contract dispute, not a medical malpractice case.
What led to the award
Orlando Health hired HKS for the hospital project, and HKS subcontracted structural-engineering work to BBM Structural Engineers. The court found that the project had structural design defects, including omitted reinforcement in a concrete slab, and that HKS failed to catch the problem while reviewing contractor shop drawings.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Recommended Free Tools
The reported defects also included a major structural miscalculation at a cantilever and deficiently designed beams. The earlier docketed order described these alleged issues; the September findings addressed the case after trial. The available reporting does not establish that the judge found every alleged defect caused a separately itemized portion of the award.
What the court found about responsibility
According to BuildSmart’s account of the findings, the court concluded that HKS and BBM omitted the required top reinforcing bars in a 12-inch concrete slab, and that HKS breached its contract with Orlando Health. HKS argued that the contractor should bear responsibility, but the court rejected that effort to shift blame for the defects.
Popular on Amazon
Design responsibility and construction responsibility were therefore not treated as interchangeable in the owner’s claim: the ruling addressed HKS’s contractual obligations to Orlando Health and its handling of design review. It should not be read as a general rule that an architect is always liable for a structural engineer’s work; the decision depended on the project record, contract, and applicable law.
The owner’s judgment is separate from HKS’s claim against BBM
The approximate $3.3 million award was against HKS. BuildSmart reported that HKS’s claims against BBM remained pending after the judgment. The owner-facing judgment and the separate dispute over how HKS and its engineering subconsultant may allocate responsibility are distinct matters; the reported ruling did not resolve that third-party dispute.
Also popular on Amazon
What is established about the damages
BuildSmart reported damages of approximately $3.3 million. The exact amount and a verified itemization by repair costs, remediation, or other contract damages are not established by the accessible reporting, so the figure should not be treated as an exact or fully allocated total.
The judgment arose from findings of fact and conclusions of law signed September 30, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The filing is available as a 48-page document on the docket, but the accessible text view exposed filing metadata rather than the full opinion text.
Also popular on Amazon
Why the case matters to project teams
- Subconsulting does not erase the prime consultant’s owner-facing obligations. Orlando Health’s contract was with HKS, while HKS had separately engaged BBM for structural engineering.
- Shop-drawing review can become part of the dispute. The reported findings included a failure to catch the slab reinforcement issue during review, not only an underlying design error.
- Responsibility and recovery can continue on separate tracks. A judgment for the owner does not itself determine the outcome of a prime consultant’s claims against a subconsultant.
BuildSmart also reported that BBM’s president acknowledged the error in an email, writing, “This is 100% our error.” That statement is attributed to the president’s email as reported by BuildSmart; the email itself was not independently reviewed.
Quick Recap
Also popular on Amazon
Also popular on Amazon
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →
