[michaelteter]

Is this true in practice, though?

I believe it's more likely for a professional engineer to be liable, but surely in projects of any reasonably large scale there would be several layers of engineering management and oversight such that the engineer working on a part of the puzzle wouldn't be liable for a greater architectural flaw...?

For example, the Boeing 737 MAX had a high level fatal flaw that existed because of a mismatched collection of arguably correct or valid hardware and software systems. The engineers who designed the more forward set engines probably did their jobs correctly, and the software "engineers" who built the pitch up correction software presumably didn't write bugs. However, the combination of the two were primary factors in the fatal accidents.

[newsclues]

Yes, in Canada engineers have been found liable for the projects they were on, after failing.

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.1300878

[dijit]

This is when it's important to read those lengthy user agreements.

I have seen situations where the text had to be changed to keep the software legally culpable.

In those cases negligence will lead to prosecution.