Professional Practice, Ethics and Liability
Professional Practice, Ethics and Liability tests how a perito behaves, documents work and manages legal exposure.
Duties
Competence: accept only work within your training and experience. Independence: disclose any conflict of interest. Confidentiality: protect client data. Documentation: keep calculations, photographs and correspondence. Where required, projects carry a colegial visado. Professional liability insurance is standard, but it does not replace careful practice. Fees should be agreed in writing before work begins.
The expert report
A dictamen states the question, method, evidence, findings and conclusions. It distinguishes fact from opinion and states limitations.
Worked example
A perito is asked to certify a building he designed five years earlier. He must decline or disclose the conflict in writing and obtain informed consent; acting as both designer and independent certifier undermines the report's credibility. If asked to value work outside his expertise, he should bring in a specialist rather than sign.
Traps
- Signing an expert report outside your competence.
- Hiding a commercial relationship with a party.
- Confusing ethical duties with LOE liability periods.
- Giving oral advice that contradicts the written report.