Avoid Accepting Responsibility for Work that Should Be Done by Others
Sometimes a client will ask the engineer to provide services, such as soils drilling or excavation, as a cost saving device. Such services are high risk. Buried utilities could be damaged. Consider the consequential damages from cutting an electric line that serves a factory. The owner is in the best position to select and contract with soils engineers. In some states, being involved with soil borings could be construed as engaging in the practice of geotechnical engineering. Do not offer the service unless you are qualified to do so or can subcontract it to a qualified geotechnical.

Third Party Claims
The first party is you. The second party is your client with whom you have a contract. The third party is someone with whom you have no contract but alleges they were harmed by your actions. What if they (a third party) allege they were deprived of profit and sue you for money they could have made? The courts vary on this. Some states have ruled that a contract is a prerequisite to claiming damages for economic loss. You may want to put into your contract that your services are for the benefit of your client and no others (a third party) have any claim.

You are Asked to Specify a Pre-Engineered Building
You should not be expected to assume the liability for something designed and built by someone else. The client should acknowledge that they have asked you to specify it and you are not responsible for any defects or deficiencies in the building and waive any claims resulting from the specification of the building.

Severability
This is a legal language found in many contracts that if any provision in the agreement is found to be unenforceable (e.g. indemnification or a payment provision being against public policy or state law) then that provision will be struck from the contract and the remainder of the agreement will continue to be legally binding.

Contractor Blindly Follows Specification
The situation could arise where it might be necessary for the engineer to specify the use of a particular means, method, technique, sequence or procedure of construction when the contractor could not be expected to be aware of certain intricacies or risks to insure a particular result. When this happens the contractor is absolved of primary responsibility connected with that approach. The contractor is not permitted to follow this approach blindly however. They are still required to bring to the engineer's attention any inadequacy, legal violation or unsafe condition that would be produced by his compliance with the engineer's specification if he should reasonably have been aware of the problem.

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