Liability - Contractors QC by PE 2

[AKSherpa]

I am a PE working as QC Admin. for a paving contractor. I am occasionally required to sign QC reports and also a statement certifying work performed in accordance with plans and specs. I am a seasonal salaried employee of the contracting company. I am seeking advice concerning liability including the following. If there were a problem with the work could I be held liable? Would I be covered under contractors insurance or corporation? Would I be smart to set up my own corporation and purchase professiona liability insurance, essentially acting as a consultant instead of employee? Any suggestions or personal experiences would be helpful.

Thanks

 

[JAE]

Are you an employee of the contractor or a separate consultant?

 

[AKSherpa]

I am a seasonal salaried employee of the company. 6 months for set amount of pay, W-2.

 

[berkshire]

If you are an employee, you SHOULD be covered by the employers insurance policy.
It certainly would not hurt to see if you can check that policy.
B.E.

 

[JAE]

Your 6 months employment frequency would make this a unique situation. I would suggest you visit with an attorney to see what risk you take on with this.

As a full time employee I don't think that there would be a full exposure to risk as the work is contracted between your employer and the client. So the client at least would not have access to sue you personally as you had no personal contractual relationship with the client. At the most perhaps all they could do is fire you if something went wrong.

As a part time employee it may be exactly the same unless the terms of your employment place you in a more "consultant" role. With that I would think if the client sued your company, the company could theoretically sue you as a consultant.

On top of all this there is the "professional" liability - if you are distinctly practicing engineering in these tasks, you then also run the risk of loosing a license. If your tasks aren't specifically engineering (i.e. not defined as engineering by your local engineering laws) then maybe your license isn't at risk unless there is specific ethical behavior that the engineering board deems worthy of a suspension.

But then again - anyone can sue anyone I suppose - it just gets washed out in the court system and you loose lots of money to your attorney.

 

[DRWeig]

Since it hasn't been mentioned yet: There are experienced engineers here who may or may not have been through your particular situation.

HOWEVER, you are asking a legal question in an engineering forum. A good lawyer would be better.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

 

[IRstuff]

For doctors, there is "tail coverage," which covers the doctor for malpractice at a former employer, assuming the former employer didn't provide insurance that covers such contingencies. There is also "nose coverage" in which the current employer's insurance takes on the coverage of prior acts.

TTFN
faq731-376

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