CHAPTER V 



ENGINEERS AND THE LAW OF NEGLIGENCE 



1. Generally 



2. Negligence of a consulting 



engineer ... 



3. Degree of skill required ... 

 4. Engineer carrying out 



employer's orders 

 5. Engineer to know the law 

 6. Negligence in supervising... 

 7. Negligence in preparing 



plans, estimates, etc. 



PAOE 



51 



51 

 52 



52 

 53 

 54 



54 



8. Negligence in not certify ing 55 

 9. Liability for acts of assist- 

 ant ' ' 57 



10. Who may sue the engineer 



for negligence ... ... 57 



11. Measure of damages ... 59 

 12. Negligence of a station 



engineer 61 



13. Liability for injuries to 



strangers 62 



1. Generally. Although the consulting engineer is but 

 seldom heard of as defendant in an action for negligence, he 

 is, nevertheless, exposed to attack, and may, at some time or 

 another have to justify his actions. His liability, however, is 

 always limited by this that he is generally employed either 

 to give his professional opinion, or carry out work in the 

 manner which he considers best. He cannot be held respon- 

 sible for an erroneous opinion, or for an error in judgment. 

 Just as a doctor cannot guarantee a cure ; and just as the 

 lawyer cannot undertake to win a case, so the engineer 

 cannot ensure the feasibility of every scheme which he devises. 



2. Negligence of a consulting engineer. There is no Eng- 

 lish case in which a distinction has been drawn between the 

 skill required of an engineer and that required of a consulting 

 engineer. But in America to borrow an example from one 

 of the other learned professions the Courts make a difference 

 between the consulting surgeon, or specialist, and general 

 practitioner. The specialist, it has been stated, must evince 

 a degree of skill which accords with his position : in other 

 words, he must not profess to a degree of special knowledge 

 which he does not possess. It is presumed that, should the 

 point ever arise in an English Court, the conduct of a consult- 

 ing engineer would be judged according to a similar standard. 



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