Want to stay out of court? Make your case! Transportation engineering documents are frequently used by litigants and courts as evidence against transportation agencies that are being sued for alleged negligence in facilities operation. TRB will host a webinar on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM Eastern that will discuss the concepts of liability neutral language and its use in engineering publications, press releases, e-mails, and other forms of communication.
This webinar is based on NCHRP’s Legal Research Digest 83: Guidelines for Drafting Liability Neutral Transportation Engineering Documents and Communications Strategies.
This webinar is sponsored by TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program and the Standing Technical Committees on Safety Performance and Analysis and Tort Liability and Risk Management.
Registration is free for employees of TRB sponsors as well as Titanium and Cobalt Global Affiliates. The registration rate for all other attendees is $60. Sign into MyTRB.org to view registration information. Contact Patrice Davenport to inquire about becoming a TRB sponsor or global affiliate organization.
A recording will be sent to all registrants after the webinar.
Webinar agenda and presenters
Discussion of liability neutral concepts and editing of documents – Terri Parker, Missouri Department of Transportation
Documentation of decision-making processes and application of engineering judgement – Heidi Skinner, County of San Diego
Question and answer session moderated by Brelend C. Gowan, Attorney at Law & Legal Consultant
The first 40 minutes of the webinar will be for presentations and the final 20 minutes will be reserved for audience questions.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
Use language that does not increase the risk of litigation for the agency
Professional Development Hours
Professional engineers (PEs) who register and attend the entire webinar as an individual will be awarded 1.0 Professional Development Hour (PDHs). TRB’s webinar program awards PDH credits only to the registered individual, and not to other members of a group that view the webinar together. To be eligible for the credits, individuals must remain signed in for the entire webinar, including for any question and answer session following the presentations.
This webinar will be delivered as a scheduled – e-learning live event and is categorized within RCEP as Technical, Health and Safety.
Please check with your licensing board to ensure that TRB webinar PDHs are approved by your board.
TRB will report credits earned to the Registered Continuing Education Program (RCEP). Complaints about registered providers may be sent to RCEP, 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, D.C., 20005.
Continuing Legal Education Credits
TRB is offering 1.0 CLE credit for this webinar. TRB did not seek approval for this webinar from the state board, so we advise that you contact your state board prior to registering for the webinar to see if credits would be accepted. Registered webinar attendees who sign in and view the entire webinar will receive a link to a certificate that they can fill out and provide to their board. Complete a certificate for each state in which you are required to file. Rules for CLE in some states require the provider to file attendance with the regulator as a service to lawyers. Please confirm jurisdictional reporting requirements with the state regulator. This certificate should be filed with the appropriate MCLE Board(s) or Commission(s) within 30 days of activity. Introductory remarks, keynote addresses, business meetings, breaks, receptions, etc., are not included in the computation of credit. TRB will retain a copy of your attendance; however, TRB is not required to submit attendance to the board.
Pre-registration is required. Once the webinar starts, you will be unable to register. Individuals that are registered for a webinar but do not receive their confirmation emails due to their organization’s internal firewalls should contact TRB Helpdesk for assistance in signing in.
View our FAQ page for more information.
Registration questions? Contact TRB webinar program.
