DP2

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

DP2

After Client B has issued an explicit directive to omit the specialized hydraulic analysis, what sequence of escalation steps does Engineer A's ethical obligation require before proceeding to include the upstream flood risk concern in regulatory submissions or withdrawing from the project, and at what point does continued project engagement itself constitute acquiescence to the suppression of safety-relevant information?

Engineer A's obligation to pursue a graduated escalation sequence — including written notification to Client B of legal and reputational risk consequences, formal proposal to include the upstream flood concern in the regulatory engineering report, and conditional withdrawal — before and as a condition of any unilateral disclosure to regulatory authorities.

Deliver written notification to Client B identifying the specific foreseeable upstream harm, the professional and legal consequences of proceeding without the analysis, and a formal proposal to include the qualified concern in the engineering report for regulatory consideration; proceed to include the concern in regulatory submissions if Client B refuses both the analysis and the report inclusion; withdraw from the project if Client B refuses all avenues for addressing the identified risk

Treat Client B's explicit directive as a fully informed client decision that exhausts the graduated engagement requirement, and proceed immediately to include the upstream flood risk concern as a qualified preliminary judgment in the engineering report submitted to regulatory authorities without further written notification to Client B

Continue project engagement through the public regulatory hearing, raise the upstream flood risk concern verbally at the hearing in response to public questions, and treat the public hearing process as the appropriate channel for surfacing the concern without prior written notification to Client B or formal proposal to include the concern in the engineering report

Engineer A