In a case of professional negligence, the contractor's expert opined that "the buck stops ... with the quality assurance manager." This is the conclusion of the 12-year history (from contract award to the most recent of several court opinions) of W.C. English, Inc. v. Rummel, Klepper & Kahl, LLC, et al., U.S. District Court, Western Dist. of Virginia, Lynchburg Division, Case No. 6:17-cv-00018 (Oct. 13, 2021). In 2009, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) awarded the contractor a $75 million contract for construction of a bridge over Interstate 81 near Lexington, Virginia. The contractor engaged a separate firm to provide quality assurance services for the project. After most of the bridge deck had already been placed, VDOT learned the depth of concrete over the deck rebar was too shallow. The prime contract required an 8.5-inch concrete deck reinforced by two separate mats of crisscrossed rebar, including a 1.5-inch concrete cover beneath the mats and a 2.75-inch top cover. To achieve this, the contractor first installed 2.5-inch chairs or slab runners between the two mats.
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