Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 22-7 (2022) · Impaired Engineering
Professional obligations conflict, and the board applies no fixed rule for which one wins.
Each resolution is recorded as three edges:
competesWith (the tension),
prevailsOver (the obligation the board allowed to win in this case), and
defeasibleUnder (the situation under which the yielding obligation gives way).
The same tension is then traced across comparable cases, where its resolution shifts with context.
Hover any obligation or state to see its definition; click to open it in OntServe.
How this case resolved it
No obligation was overridden in this case: the board resolved the apparent tension without defeat, as recorded below.
Resolved without defeat
The board resolved the apparent tension here by setting a duty's boundary (specification) or by finding no genuine conflict on the facts (dissolution), rather than by allowing one obligation to prevail over another.
specification
Analytical conclusion 3: Q104: Engineer A's initial response to the 'odd' bracing—...
Given that Engineer A's initial suspicion concerned only a technical anomaly and the broader facts about impairment and unlawful sealing surfaced only later, the board treated retaining Engineer R as reasonable diligence for the defect itself, while holding that this could not substitute for the distinct reporting obligation triggered once the full...
What the board concluded
- It was unethical for Engineer A to not report Engineer B, in spite of the fact that Engineer A and Engineer B were friends.
- It was unethical for Engineer B to continue work in an impaired state in which he could not competently perform engineering design, could not guide and direct his subordinates, or properly review their designs or drawings.
- Engineer Intern C’s complicity in helping Engineer B to continue work was unethical.
Recorded violations:
Delegation and Unreviewed Sealing violates Engineer B Licensure Conformance Duty
Delegation and Unreviewed Sealing violates Engineer B Sealed Drawing Review Duty
Reporting Omission violates Engineer Intern C Licensure Conformance Duty
Reporting Omission violates Engineer Intern C Reporting Duty
Reporting Omission violates Engineer A Violation Reporting Duty
Continued Practice While Impaired violates Engineer B Licensure Conformance Duty
Complicit Cooperation violates Engineer Intern C Licensure Conformance Duty
Reporting Omission violates Engineer A State Board Reporting Duty