DP6

DecisionPoint
http://proethica.org/ontology/cases#DecisionPoint

DP6

Engineer A's professional seal on the hurricane damage assessment reports creates a continuing public representation of professional responsibility for those documents. Supervisor B covertly altered those reports without Engineer A's knowledge or consent. Can Engineer A be simultaneously accountable for the integrity of documents he did not alter and absolved of moral responsibility for the specific act of falsification — and if so, does that accountability asymmetry create an unconditional affirmative duty to correct the record, or does the covert nature of the alteration limit Engineer A's residual obligations?

The tension between Engineer A's ongoing professional accountability for sealed documents bearing his seal and his non-culpability for the covert unauthorized alteration — and whether accountability without culpability creates an affirmative corrective duty

Treat the ongoing circulation of falsified reports bearing his seal as creating an unconditional affirmative corrective duty — publicly disavow the altered versions, provide the original findings to all relevant parties, and take all available steps to correct the record, recognizing that inaction after discovery constitutes constructive ratification of the falsification

Treat the covert and unauthorized nature of the alteration as limiting Engineer A's residual accountability to reporting the falsification to the licensing board and enforcement authorities — fulfilling the corrective obligation through official channels while declining to make direct public statements about the altered reports on the grounds that doing so could prejudice ongoing regulatory or legal proceedings

Formally document and preserve Engineer A's original findings and the unauthorized nature of the alterations, provide that documentation to the licensing board and to any party who requests it — including property owners and their legal representatives — while refraining from proactive public disavowal until the licensing board has made an official determination, to avoid prejudging a matter under regulatory review

Engineer A