Engineers must weigh chances of defect causing injury against cost of minimizing defects  Minimal compliance is insufficient –           adhering to accepted practices & standards not enough  Standards are mere checklists – use them creatively and judgmentally

Engineers can be sued personally even when acting according to guidelines set b y

Employers    E.g. One county highway engineer was sued for failure to repair roads– had to pay $2 million    Some Cos. protect their engineers and allow themselves to be sued for such money damages    Independent engineers can write liability limits into their contracts

Good knowledge of liability is necessary for engineers