Should criminal liability be pursued for the consequences of design flaws?
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It has always been unclear as to how responsibilities for design, proofreading, review, etc. are divided, as well as the extent to which individuals and companies are held accountable. In accordance with Article 23 of the Regulations on the Management of Registered Engineers for Survey and Design: The employer shall bear the liability for compensation for economic losses resulting from accidents in construction project survey and design as well as related activities ； After the employer assumes liability for compensation, it may seek recourse from the registered engineer at fault in accordance with the law. However, in 2015, upon reading the \"Investigation Report on the Severe Production Safety Incident of the ‘10.07’ Explosion at the Reused Water Plant of Inner Mongolia Dongyuan Technology Co., Ltd., which was constructed under the general contract by China XX Engineering Co., Ltd.\", Zhang XX, a design engineer from BDO working for China XX Engineering Co., Ltd., was responsible for the design quality and schedule, ensuring that the design met the required standards. It violated the requirements set out in the company’s \"Work Standards for Designers, Reviewers, and Approvers\" (hereinafter referred to as the \"Work Standards\") regarding the careful implementation of current standards, regulations, and unified engineering specifications. When implementing the design changes to the layout of the overflow pipes, no barrier devices such as water seals were installed on the 6 overflow pipes or on the main pipe through which they converge, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the \"Code for Fire Protection Design of Petrochemical Enterprises.\" Nor was any identification of hazardous factors carried out; thus, this person is directly responsible for the occurrence of this accident. Given that their actions may constitute a crime, it is recommended that they be handed over to the judicial authorities for prosecution in accordance with the law. In the investigation report, only the designer was recommended to face criminal prosecution; the others were subject to penalties such as fines. From this perspective, it seems that design bears the greatest responsibility. Furthermore, in the investigation report, the investigation team recommended that the judicial authorities hold the person responsible criminally. I wonder whether the procuratorate will ultimately adopt the recommendations put forward in the investigation report? Was the designer finally sentenced?
Depending on the nature of the accident, severe cases may incur criminal liability.
This post was last edited by qind* on 2017-3-1 09:22. Zhang XX is still under labor dispatch; XX Project has subcontracted this part of the work. The criteria for determining responsibility in the accident report are still based on the regulations of XX Project. In many small courtyards, although there are regulations, they are never enforced; everything is done in a chaotic manner. Will accountability then be determined according to those regulations? There are no design process documents at all. Project XX is quite top-notch in terms of management.
Was Zhang XX finally sentenced?
It was previously believed that the responsibilities for design, proofreading, and review were increasing, but it now seems that the design responsibility is the greatest.
I remember that in one hospital, two designers were sentenced due to a pipeline explosion; the specific allocation of responsibility might also be related to the proportion of bonuses
It’s assumed that Cheng Da has done the design work; they give you some money so that you can take responsibility for it – this is what’s meant by abandoning the minor issue to protect the bigger one. If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t take on this responsibility if no benefits were offered to me. And there’s a problem here: the design verification is done by just one person
This is a sentence, not just ordinary accountability.
Of course it’s a sentence; everyone else gets a fine. Someone has to take the blame. If it were just a fine, what would be the need for anyone to take responsibility? Everyone else is getting fined anyway
Design responsibility is **; after an accident occurs, it is necessary to analyze the causes. Those issues arising from design are the responsibility of the design team, while those arising from construction are the responsibility of the construction team. In short, whoever is responsible must take responsibility.
Previously, it was the enterprises that were held accountable financially and required to pay compensation. Generally, criminal liability is not pursued. A few years ago, several bridges collapsed in various places, resulting in casualties as well. However, no criminal liability was imposed on the relevant engineering and technical personnel.