If you’re an Engineer in Texas, you’ve been through years of education, examinations, and a building of requisite experience to get where you are today. You design the systems and structures that undergird the functioning of our society. Which is why, if you’ve had a complaint lodged against your license, you’re probably feeling a great deal of stress at the prospect of your reputation coming to harm and your means of earning your living coming to an abrupt end. And, make no mistake, all it may take is a single complaint to make that happen.
The Texas Board of Professional Engineers oversees the licensure of Engineers, and maintenance of your license also falls within its purview. Its stated purpose is to “enforce the Texas Engineering Practice Act, and to regulate the practice of professional engineering in Texas,” with the primary goal of the “protection of the public.” Any investigation launched by the Board does not have your interests at heart, in other words. It therefore takes on a prosecutorial tone. When you receive the notice of a complaint, you should therefore take the stance that you are now in an all-out battle to continue practicing the profession you love.
In fact, if you have received notice of a complaint, the Board has already reviewed the complaint to determine whether it may have merit, and whether it falls within the Board’s jurisdiction to investigate, and determined both these elements to be true. The complaint notice will contain such information as the allegations against you, the source of the complaint, which laws or rules you may have violated, and a request for response to the complaint. Most often the Board grants you a three week deadline to respond.
Your response to this letter is of vital importance to your case and may shape the scope of the entire investigation to follow. It is essential that you do not take it on by yourself. Instead you should enlist the aid of an experienced professional license defense attorney to craft this letter on your behalf. We here at BERTOLINO LLP can help. We are experienced professional license defense attorneys and we know how to navigate the complaint process. We are skilled at assisting Engineers in doing everything that can be done to ensure the most favorable possible outcome to your case.
With offices in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, we serve clients all over the state. Contact us today or call (512) 476-5757 and schedule a case evaluation.
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