In its first claim, Stradiņš Hospital has so far included liquidated damages. There will be other claims and the total amount will increase significantly, according to Benno Butulis, attorney-at-law and partner at PwC Legal, representing the interests of Stradiņš Hospital. "Stradiņš Hospital is strongly committed to recovering the maximum possible amount of costs and damages from the builder and will therefore detail and supplement this claim with new claims or bring other claims to court."
Although the exact total of all claims will only be known once the damage calculations have been finalized, it can already be estimated that the amount of damages caused by Velve Ltd to Stradiņš Hospital is likely to reach tens of millions of euros.
By concluding the contract with the hospital, the builder has also undertaken to cover all costs and damages that may arise as a result of the delay, including the co-financing of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) program. The total funding received from the ERDF exceeds €60 million, and the total amount of money to be recovered under this could also increase several-fold.
LLC Velve will also be asked to pay for other damages and expenses, including the costs of organizing new procurement, the costs of expert reports, legal fees and other expenses incurred and to be incurred as a result of the builder's failure to comply with its obligations under the contract.
Stradiņš Hospital's contract with the construction company Velve was unilaterally terminated on February 13 due to delays in construction and non-fulfillment of obligations, and the site of the new building was taken over on February 21, also unilaterally and with the presence of the police.
Upon taking possession of the construction site, experts found that representatives of Velve Ltd, together with their personal belongings, had removed the project documentation belonging to the hospital from the construction site. The State Police has opened criminal proceedings against the construction company. Velve was also accused of debts to subcontractors.
