DP5

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

DP5

After notifying Engineer B of the discovered safety code violations, should Engineer A treat the collegial discussion as fulfilling the reporting obligation and await Engineer B's response indefinitely, establish a documented corrective-action deadline and escalate to authorities if that deadline is not met, or report to proper authorities concurrently with or immediately following the notification to Engineer B regardless of Engineer B's response?

Engineer A Post-Notification Follow-Through Obligation: After notifying Engineer B of discovered safety violations, whether Engineer A's ethical duty is discharged by the collegial discussion alone or requires active monitoring, a documented corrective-action framework, and independent escalation to authorities if Engineer B fails to act promptly.

At the time of notifying Engineer B, establish a documented corrective-action framework specifying what remediation is expected, by what deadline, and what escalation steps Engineer A will take if Engineer B fails to act — then follow through with regulatory reporting if Engineer B does not take prompt and verifiable corrective action within that timeframe.

Treat the collegial notification as fulfilling the immediate reporting obligation and allow Engineer B a reasonable, open-ended period to assess and correct the violations before taking any further action, on the grounds that the peer review program's collegial improvement purpose is best served by giving Engineer B a genuine opportunity to self-correct without the pressure of a concurrent regulatory referral.

Notify Engineer B of the violations and simultaneously — or immediately thereafter — report the findings to the proper regulatory authorities, on the grounds that the public may already be exposed to risk from implemented non-compliant designs and that Engineer A's duty runs to the public rather than to securing Engineer B's private promise of future compliance.

Engineer A Peer Review Safety Violation Discovering Engineer