Obligation-Conflict Resolution

Case 08-10 (2008) · Public Welfare—Design of Medical Equipment

Case Precedents

How this case resolved it competition structure in OntServe

Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty prevails over Engineer A Conditional Reporting Duty

the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)

this resolution as a triple in OntServe

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Internal Mechanisms Available MedTech

Engineer A Internal Recourse Duty prevails over Engineer A Conditional Reporting Duty

the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)

this resolution as a triple in OntServe

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Internal Mechanisms Available MedTech

Open tensions recorded without a resolution: Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty vs Engineer A Public Safety Duty

What the board concluded

From the Board's conclusions in Case 08-10:

It was not ethical for Engineer A to indicate that if prompt measures are not taken to correct the problem, he will be compelled to report the matter to an appropriate federal regulatory agency. Instead, Engineer A should have sought to determine what internal steps are being taken to address the concerns. However, if after making additional inquiries, Engineer A determined that no meaningful...

Recorded violations: Corrective Action Omission violates Engineer A Public Safety Duty External Reporting Threat violates Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty

How comparable cases resolved this and related tensions

Read at the type level, this resolution is: Reporting Obligation yields to Faithful Agent Obligation. Comparison across cases happens at this level; the duty types recur while each case's obligations instantiate them. Cases below are grouped by how much of that pairing they share. A duty type that yields here may prevail elsewhere, which is the context-dependence itself, not an inconsistency.

Same tension: both duty types match, so the board ruled on this exact pairing. Related tension: only one duty type matches; the other duty differs, so these show how a type behaves elsewhere rather than a ruling on this pairing.

Case	Prevailing type	Yielding type	Relation to this case
Same tension: both duty types match (3)
85-4 Objectivity of Engineer Retained as Expert	Faithful Agent Obligation	Objectivity Obligation	Same tension, resolved the same way
76-4 Public Welfare - Knowledge of Information...	Reporting Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	Same tension, resolved the opposite way
89-7 Duty To Report Safety Violations	Reporting Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	Same tension, resolved the opposite way
Related tension: one duty type matches (16)
23-4 Acknowledging Errors in Design	Objectivity Obligation	Professional Accountability Obligation	The yielding type here prevails there
17-3 Public Health, Safety and...	Reporting Obligation	Reporting Obligation	The yielding type here prevails there
89-7 Duty To Report Safety Violations	Reporting Obligation	Confidentiality Obligation	The yielding type here prevails there
90-5 Failure To Report Information Affecting...	Reporting Obligation	Confidentiality Obligation	The yielding type here prevails there
96-8 Peer Review - Confidentiality Agreements	Reporting Obligation	Confidentiality Obligation	The yielding type here prevails there
24-1 Balancing Client Directives and Public...	Safety Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	The prevailing type here yields there
22-2 Sharing As-Built Drawings	Disclosure Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	The prevailing type here yields there
76-4 Public Welfare - Knowledge of Information...	Safety Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	The prevailing type here yields there
89-7 Duty To Report Safety Violations	Safety Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	The prevailing type here yields there
88-6 Whistleblowing - City Engineer	Safety Withdrawal and Notification Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	The prevailing type here yields there
82-2 Confidentiality of Engineering Report	Confidentiality Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	The prevailing type here yields there
92-6 Public Welfare - Hazardous Waste	Safety Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	The prevailing type here yields there
17-3 Public Health, Safety and...	Proactive Risk Disclosure Obligation	Reporting Obligation	The yielding type here also yields there, to a different duty
24-5 Sustainable Development and Resilient...	Faithful Agent Obligation	Professional Accountability Obligation	The prevailing type here also prevails there, over a different duty
97-13 Duty To Report Unrelated Information...	Faithful Agent Obligation	Safety Obligation	The prevailing type here also prevails there, over a different duty
93-3 Appropriate Notification And Review Of...	Faithful Agent Obligation	Peer Review Cooperation Obligation	The prevailing type here also prevails there, over a different duty

Closest instance-level matches, ranked on the specific obligations and contexts of this case:

Case	Obligation that prevailed	Yielding obligation	Context (defeasibleUnder)
97-13 Duty To Report Unrelated Information...	Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty	Engineer A Public Safety Duty	Client Report Omission Directive
17-3 Public Health, Safety and...	Engineer A Corrective Action Escalation Duty	Engineer A Client Defect Reporting Duty	Higher Ethical Threshold for Engineer A
93-3 Appropriate Notification And Review Of...	Engineer B Faithful Agent Duty	Engineer B Peer Notification Duty	Franchiser Nondisclosure Directive