Seperation from Company and Engineer's Seal

[Antnyt23]

I was curious how it works if an engineer leaves or was fired (and if there are differences) from an engineering firm. What the extent of their sealed documents are? I would assume anything that they had signed and sealed assuming there was no changes made are still under their name. Does it matter if these documents have not yet made it to the jurisdiction and been approved? I would assume that if there are any requests made the documents would need to be revised and sealed by a new engineer of the company would that be correct?

 

[kylesito]

My understanding is that on issues regarding an engineer of record, the responsibility remains with the company. A recent case was the bridge collapse in Minneapolis where the firm that had bought out the firm that did the original design on the bridge was held liable as the EOR.

However, that's not to say that the design engineer, if they are still practicing with another firm, couldn't be called into testify or provide insight into a past design given a civil dispute over one of their designs. Technically it's still their design and since the license is granted individually, not as a company, so the responsibility remains with them.

PE, SE
Eastern United States

"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi

 

[Ron]

Antnyt23...anything you sign and seal YOU are responsible for. If you work for a company and you sign and seal on their behalf, they will usually indemnify you from liability as a part of your employment. If you leave, you still have responsibility for what you signed and sealed for them, and at that point you need to maintain involvement with the project whether you continue to work under contract to them or separately for the client. Keep in mind that "Engineer of Record" means exactly that! It does not mean "Engineering firm of record". If you leave and they get sued because of your work, it would still be in their best interest to protect you as they are the "deeper pocket" and will likely bear the brunt of any liability. If they lose, they can still sue you though!