DP3

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

DP3

If Engineer B acknowledges the violations and commits to corrective action, should Engineer A treat that private resolution as fully discharging the reporting obligation, continue to monitor and verify corrective action before concluding no further steps are required, or independently notify proper authorities regardless of Engineer B's corrective commitment given the public's prior exposure to risk?

Engineer A, having notified Engineer B of the discovered safety code violations and given Engineer B an opportunity to respond, must now determine whether Engineer B's response — or failure to respond — discharges Engineer A's escalation obligation or triggers a duty to report to proper authorities. This decision also implicates the structural question of whether the peer review program's confidentiality framework, as designed, adequately supports both collegial improvement and public safety reporting obligations.

Accept Engineer B's corrective commitment as a good-faith first step, but establish a documented framework specifying what corrective action is expected, by when, and what Engineer A will do if that action is not taken — then independently verify that the risk has been fully remediated before concluding no further action is required, and escalate to proper authorities if Engineer B's response is inadequate, delayed, or the public's prior exposure to risk warrants regulatory notification.

Accept Engineer B's acknowledgment and corrective commitment as fully discharging Engineer A's escalation obligation under the peer review program's confidentiality framework — on the grounds that the collegial resolution pathway achieved its intended purpose, that further external reporting would undermine the peer review program's effectiveness as a voluntary improvement mechanism, and that Engineer B's professional obligations now govern the remediation process.

Independently notify the appropriate governmental authorities of the discovered safety code violations notwithstanding Engineer B's corrective commitment — on the grounds that the public may already have been exposed to risk from non-compliant designs, that regulators need the information to independently assess whether interim protective measures are required, and that Engineer A's duty runs to the public rather than to securing private promises of future compliance.

Engineer A Peer Review Safety Violation Discovering Engineer