Engineering Professional Liability – EGBC Investigations and Discipline
EGBC Investigations, Discipline and Suspensions
When an engineer does not follow the Code of Ethics, or does not perform his work to the standards required by law, an engineer can be:
- Punished with a fine
- Restricted from doing certain kinds of engineering
- Suspended from practicing engineering
- In the worst case, have his or her license revoked.
EGBC is the regulatory body responsible for making decisions about fines, restrictions, and suspensions for engineers. EGBC maintains a Code of Conduct and certain Guidelines on the practice of engineering which are used to determine whether to apply a penalty or restriction to an engineer.
Important Links to Determine Whether you will be Investigated or Disciplined:
The Engineers and Geoscientists Act
When EGBC receives a complaint about an engineer, the first stage of the process is to investigate the complaint. EGBC takes all complaints about engineers very seriously and will investigate each complaint aggressively and thoroughly. In my experience, the best way to resolve complaints with EGBC is to be fully compliant with all of their requests. But before you give any response to EGBC, you should seek advice from a lawyer who is also an engineer.
The investigation process may involve EGBC’s investigators sending you letters asking to provide information, records or answers to specific questions. EGBC also has the power to call upon you to attend a meeting at their offices in Burnaby. You must comply with this request if you are called upon. However in each case, it is recommended that you engage counsel to protect your interests. These inquiries and investigative meetings are stressful and you may end up harming your case if you do not have advice on your rights and obligations.
After the investigation stage, EGBC will make a determination as to whether professional misconduct has taken place. You still have a chance to save your reputation and your license at this stage if you can satisfy EGBC that the breaches were minor and/or the breaches will not occur again in the future.
EGBC may proceed to sanction you by way of a Consent Order. This can avoid the expense and stress of attending a disciplinary hearing. It also provides you with certainty on the terms of the discipline. You can negotiate the terms of the Consent Order with EGBC.
In our experience, typical discipline from EGBC includes:
- Payment of Fines
- A published citation of professional misconduct
- Payment of EGBC’s costs (which are often in the tens of thousands of dollars)
- Temporary or permanent suspensions.
If negotiated successfully with EGBC, you can potentially have some of these penalties reduced or even eliminated. ATAC LAW has experience in attending disciplinary hearings and negotiating Consent Orders with EGBC.
Negligence Claims
Engineers can be liable to their clients as well as any member of the public when their conduct is careless, reckless or negligent. When an engineer’s conduct falls below the standard of care expected of an engineer, an engineer may be:
- Involved in lengthy, costly and damaging lawsuits
- Liable to pay to repair the damage cased
- Liable to pay for a person’s injuries
- And in the worst case, imprisoned.
Negligence claims can arise in a number of circumstances, such as giving poor advice, or failing to investigate thoroughly before writing a report.
ATAC LAW’s lawyers will defend engineers in negligence claims and construction liability claims.
Often an engineer will have an insurance policy which will cover the lawyer’s fees for the negligence claim, and the engineer if he or she is found to be negligent. However, if you are an engineer involved in a negligence claim, you should hire a lawyer who is also an engineer who understands the code of professional conduct better than any person who is just a lawyer.
Mike C. Stewart, P.Eng is a professional engineer and teaches engineers how to prevent negligence as an adjunct professor at UBC.
If you are an engineer and have been sued for negligence or are in trouble with EGBC, contact Mike C. Stewart, P.Eng today.
