One would expect professionals to carry out their duties according to the highest ethical standards when clients request their services. Unfortunately, not all professionals perform their jobs competently. As a result, this could lead to harm, financial loss, and other damages.
“Professionals who breach the highest standard of care or duty may be held liable for damages that result from their negligence,” says Berkowitz Hanna Malpractice & Injury Lawyer. However, if the clients decide to sue for damages, they will likely require assistance from a lawyer specialized in the field. However, most clients in this situation get confused understanding the exact case they are pursuing.
How Professional Negligence and Malpractice Relate
The first people who usually come to mind when someone mentions a malpractice claim are healthcare providers. However, all professionals can make mistakes that can result in harm or financial loss. Therefore, the terms malpractice and professional negligence are interchangeable; they mean the same thing.
Professionals have a duty under law and ethics to act in the best interests of their clients. It requires them to use their education and training in that regard. Professionals engage in malpractice when they fail to uphold their duty of care and cause financial loss, harm, or other damages to their patients or clients.
As a result, they could be held liable for the harm or damages they caused and may be required to settle the clients financially. Therefore, malpractice includes failing to provide the standard level of care for those in a given profession or making harmful mistakes out of negligence. It also covers professionals engaging in deliberate behavior that endangers patients or clients.
Professional Negligence Versus Ordinary Negligence
Any company or person can be involved with ordinary negligence. If a guest suffers a dog attack injury in your apartment, that could be considered ordinary negligence. Or over speeding through a stop sign and causing an accident.
Because you fail to abide by the duty of care, you could be held accountable for any harm due to your negligence, whether physical or financial. It implies that companies or individuals must exercise a similar level of caution or care that any reasonable person would to prevent harming others. When they fail to do this, it is ordinary negligence.
On the other hand, professionals have a higher duty or standard of care if clients hire them for their specialized skills. In other words, the rules are different for professionals. Professional negligence is when professionals fail to exercise the same level of caution that someone else with their specialized knowledge and training would.
Common Forms of Malpractice or Professional Negligence
Malpractice or professional negligence can take different forms. Some of them include the following:
#1. Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is among the most common forms of professional negligence or malpractice. It happens when a medical professional fails to act similarly to a reasonable medical professional with the same level of training and expertise.
This obligation also extends to hospitals, nurses, doctors, and surgeons. Medical malpractice includes dosage mistakes, drug prescriptions that interact with those the patient is already taking, or incorrect drug prescriptions. In addition, it may involve delayed diagnosis, failure to treat, and misdiagnosis.
#2. Attorney Malpractice
Lawyers owe clients a duty of care to avoid critical mistakes that a reasonable lawyer would not commit in similar situations. Attorney malpractice goes beyond simply losing a case for a client.
When someone hires a lawyer to represent them, that lawyer is obligated to offer knowledgeable and professional services. If the attorney fails to provide knowledgeable and professional services and causes the client damages, the attorney may be held responsible for those damages. A client may consider filing a malpractice claim against an attorney if they make a mistake that causes damage.
#3. Accounting Malpractice
Accounting malpractice occurs when certified public accountants and other financial advisors act negligently or carelessly while performing their jobs, resulting in financial loss. However, they may be held accountable for the financial loss or other damages their negligence caused. Common accounting malpractice claims include the following accusations:
- Negligence in preparing a tax return or financial statements
- Failing to review profit and loss statements or balance sheets with due diligence
- Net worth overstatement
#4. Architectural or Engineering Malpractice
Architectural malpractice is when an architect or engineer does not exercise reasonable care in designing, consulting, or advising on any building project. As a result, the architect may be held accountable for damages resulting from their negligence.
Using the wrong guidelines to calculate weight loads, structural integrity, or other building material properties is an example of architectural or engineering malpractice. Architectural malpractice may also include poor supervision of employees as they complete tasks on a project.
Requirements For Proving Malpractice or Professional Negligence
In all malpractice or professional negligence claims, a plaintiff must prove particular elements to establish that professional negligence happened to win a case. These elements include the following:
- Duty of Care: The professional owed the plaintiff a special duty of care based on their level of expertise as a professional and their relationship with the plaintiff. It may include giving the plaintiff (client) legal advice or medical care
- Breach of Duty: The defendant (the professional) breached the duty of care they owe the plaintiff
- Causation: Client injury is directly brought on by the professional
- Damages: The plaintiff must prove that professional violation of duty caused damages like medical expenses for an injury or failure of a lawsuit
Compensations Available in Professional Negligence or Malpractice Cases
Professional negligence or malpractice lawsuits usually cover damages for economic and non-economic loss. Also known as specific damage, Economic damages compensate the plaintiff for actual financial losses. The easily quantifiable amount covers the cost of medical expenses, lost wages, and reduced future earnings.
On the other hand, Non-economic damages, also known as general damage, are more challenging to calculate because they serve as compensation for the actual injury. The settlement requires the jury to place a monetary value on the actual injury, associated pain, suffering, and disability.
Final Thought
Consider hiring a lawyer and seeking legal advice from an attorney if you believe you have been negatively affected due to negligence from another person. But before hiring a lawyer, it is vital to decide the exact kind of claim you should file concerning the damages or losses incurred.
