Conflict of Interest Question 4

[PMR06]

I have a potential conflict of interest scenario:

My grandfather's house was damaged by flood and my family has asked if I could write and seal a letter stating the flood caused damage and needs demo/replaced... all of which I am completely comfortable stating and any other engineer would agree. (I am a licensed PE in the State in question, with years of foundation/residential experience) The ethical conflict of interest is that my letter will eventually be used to expedite and/or increase the likelihood of receiving claim funds, and I could benefit from that as well.

Is it ethically "ok" to simply disclose in my letter that I am related to the property owner? I want to help my family, but I will not jeopardize my seal/ethics in doing so.

Thanks in advance for any advise.

 

[fegenbush]

Insurance claims on such items often end up in court. Any competent attorney for the insurance company will call into question this conflict of interest. Unless you have a decades long history of providing competent engineering services to the public, these questions will overshadow your expertise.

It will be much less of a problem later to have someone not related to you write, sign, and seal the letter. Perhaps there is another person in your firm that you can ask to do this for you. In return, you may be able to do the same for them on an equally problematic position.

 

[zdas04]

If you really want to help your family hire a disinterested third party to do the work. Nothing good can come from stamping something that you have a personal interest in.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

Law is the common force organized to act as an obstacle of injustice Frédéric Bastiat

 

[PMR06]

Thanks for confirming my suspicion. I was already questioning the ethics, so I completely agree that anyone else would just tear into the ethics of this too.

I have already talked to a colleague of mine about reviewing the damage and writing his own objective assessment of the situation.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

I wouldn't say it's unethical... you truly believe the basement needs the repair work. But someone else may not believe you're being ethical, and there lies the rub.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[coloeng]

Its often the appearance of a conflict of interest that causes the problem rather than an actual conflict.

 

[PMR06]

It is frustrating, and more so to my family trying to understand my ethical dilemna. Professionally, I have no doubt that the damage was caused by flood and repairs must be made to restore safe structure. My thought was if I fully disclose in writing my relationship to the owner and property, I put the ethics out there for everyone to see. Then if FEMA or the insurance company does not want to go by my recommendation they could request a 3rd party review. Is disclosure enough though?

 

[KENAT]

Do you have someone in the industry that owes you a favor that could help you out, maybe you can do some of the leg work etc.?

Obviously need to be careful though that you aren't getting them to just 'rubber stamp' what you would say.

For your family, I'd emphasize the legal aspect that if it ends up in court of law or adjudication it would probably be a negative that you have a perceived interest, rather than trying to explain the ethical aspects.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[PMR06]

Yes, as I said in a previous post, I have a colleague that will help. I'm going to do the legwork of assembling any sketches and photos, but he will write his own quick letter and ultimately be comfortable sealing the package. I just wanted to get other opinions of the situation. Lawyers can represent themselves, why can't engineers without being questioned of their ethics? And, I don't associate myself with rubber-stampers!

 

[zdas04]

Lawyers can represent themselves because their industry has nothing to do with the truth (or micro-ethics, i.e., if they mostly follow the rules, the fact that they are behaving unethically is irrelevant).

As a P.E. your obligation is only to your understanding of the truth. Stamping a package that you have a personal interest in gives the appearance that you are acting in those interests, not in the interest of the truth. It really doesn't matter if you write exactly the same report you would have written as a disinterested third party. It just doesn't matter, you can't prove it. This is not an ethical question, it is a practical question. Practical questions are a lot easier. You can't prove that your opinion was not biased by your ownership so don't try.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

Law is the common force organized to act as an obstacle of injustice Frédéric Bastiat

 

[PMR06]

Again, thanks for all your responses and I am going to have someone else seal the letter.

In the end, my frustration with the situation is itself evidence of the lack of complete objectivity.

 

[hokie66]

"A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client". I don't know who said it, but it has a ring of truth. It would also apply to arguments with insurance companies.

 

[looslib]

Abraham Lincoln is credited with that quotation.

"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli