DP3

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

DP3

Should Engineer B have notified or consulted Engineer A before accepting the engagement or before making material alterations to Engineer A's sealed plans, or was Engineer B ethically permitted to proceed without any communication with Engineer A given that Engineer A had been formally discharged by the client?

Engineer B accepted the engagement to review and redesign Engineer A's sealed subdivision plans after Engineer A was formally discharged by the client. At no time after Engineer B was retained were there any communications between the two engineers. The question is whether Engineer B was ethically required to notify Engineer A before accepting the engagement or before commencing material alterations to Engineer A's sealed plans — and whether the permissibility of accepting the engagement without notification extends to complete silence throughout the entire redesign process.

Accept the engagement and proceed with the redesign without notifying or consulting Engineer A at any stage, relying on the formal discharge as terminating any notification obligation under NSPE Code Section III.8.a and treating the client's transfer of the drawings as sufficient authorization to proceed.

Contact Engineer A before formally accepting the engagement to inform him that the client has requested a redesign of his sealed plans, giving Engineer A the opportunity to provide context about design intent and known constraints — treating the notification as a professional courtesy that serves design quality even if not strictly required by the discharge exception.

Accept the engagement without prior notification — consistent with the discharge exception — but initiate direct professional communication with Engineer A before commencing material alterations to his sealed plans, recognizing that the permissibility of accepting the engagement is analytically separate from the prudential obligation to consult before fundamentally redesigning sealed work.

Engineer B