Would anyone be willing to publish their disclaimer as an example for us? And what would be a good company to contact to ask about E&O policies? Bill Brooks PCB Design Engineer, C.I.D.+, C.I.I. Tel: (760)597-1500 Ext 3772 Fax: (760)597-1510 e-mail:[log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Cliff Gerhard [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2005 12:11 PM To: DXP Technical Forum Subject: Re: [dxp] Question To PCB Designers On Liability Anyone doing consulting should have a consulting agreement or standard terms document that spells out payment terms, deliverables, data required from the customer, changes in scope, etc. Without these things spelled out in writing, you are more exposed if someone refuses to pay or sues. We have a standard terms document that we attach to every Quote or Estimate. On that document, we have a disclaimer to the effect of: In the event of omissions or errors, we will correct the errors for no charge. Our liability is limited to correction of drawings or documents prepared by us. I had a customer that bought larger quantities of boards on a 24 turn for fabrication and expedited assembly with no proto (on the order of $10k cost). They did it several times even though I told him it was a bad idea and if there was any problem it would be on his nickel. There is no way that I would assume $10k plus liability for a $1,200.00 job. Eventually there was a problem and he learned the hard way. He also ended up stiffing us for a large amount of money and leaving the state. Sometimes you wish they had been scared off.... It's a jungle out there and you need to cover your butt. Regards, Cliff o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o Cliff Gerhard, P.E. E-M Designs, Inc. emdesigns.com <www.emdesigns.com> emmanufacturing.com <www.emmanufacturing.com> gerhardeng.com <www.gerhardeng.com> From: Rusty Land [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2005 9:29 AM To: DXP Technical Forum Subject: [dxp] Question To PCB Designers On Liability This question does not pertain to Protel but I thought it may be of interest to all PCB designers, particularly consultants. Do any of you sign agreements with your customers limiting your liability in the event of errors and omissions on your part? Are you aware of any suits being brought against PCB designers due to errors and omissions? I haven't had any problems in the years that I have been consulting but a customer recently told me they were skipping the prototype stage on a couple of my boards and going straight into production. This has caused me to look closely at liability issues. I could also see the case where someone was injured or equipment damaged due to a failure of the board. I'm trying to decide now if I should formulate such an agreement or whether it would scare off more customers than it's worth. Thanks, Rusty Land --- You are currently subscribed to dxp For details about using the list, including how to un-subscribe, please refer to http://forums.altium.com/cgi-bin/info.asp --- You are currently subscribed to dxp For details about using the list, including how to un-subscribe, please refer to http://forums.altium.com/cgi-bin/info.asp --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DesignerCouncil Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF DesignerCouncil. To temporarily stop/(restart) delivery of DesignerCouncil send: SET DesignerCouncil NOMAIL/(MAIL) Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------