Professionals in various fields are required to uphold specific standards of care to their clients. Professional negligence or malpractice may occur when a professional fails to meet the standard of care that is specified for their profession. Sometimes, professional negligence results in damages to the party who was provided the professional services.
If you believe that you have been the victim of professional negligence or malpractice, it is imperative that you contact an experienced professional negligence lawyer without delay to preserve your claim. A professional negligence lawyer can analyze the facts, explain your rights, and seek the compensation that you deserve.
- What Is Professional Negligence?
- What is The Duty of Care?
- How Do You Prove Professional Negligence?
- What is an Example of Professional Negligence?
- Getting Help
What Is Professional Negligence?
Professional Negligence, often referred to as Professional Malpractice, occurs when a professional (lawyer, broker, accountant, realtor, financial advisor, etc...) deviates from the accepted standard of care for their profession and, as a result, causes damages.
When a professional agrees to provide services for an individual or group who needs their services they must adhere to the "standard of care" that applies to their particular profession. The standard of care is different for every profession and is case-sensitive. If a professional deviates from the standard of care governing their profession, they may leave themselves open to a malpractice lawsuit.
The Reinartz Law Firm represents individuals and businesses in a variety of professional negligence cases involving:
- Architects
- Accountants
- Stock brokers
- Financial advisors
- Doctors
- Pharmacists
- Insurance agents
- Psychologists
- Social workers
- Physical therapists
- Occupational therapists
- Dentists
- Home inspectors
What is The Duty of Care?
The term "duty of care" refers to a legal obligation that a party must comply with in order to prevent reasonably foreseeable harm to others. In the professional malpractice setting, it essentially defines the level of professionalism that must be met. Professional negligence occurs by act or omission when a party fails to meet the duty of care for their profession, and that failure causes damages. Industries requiring a license or certification to conduct business may fall into this category.
How Do You Prove Professional Negligence?
For your claim to be successful, you need to prove that the professional in question failed to provide "reasonable care" or breached their "duty of care" and that there were negative effects as a result such as economic loss, injury, or otherwise.
There are two tests that are often used to determine if the professional adhered to reasonable care. They are:
- Forseeability Tests - Foreseeability Tests can be used to estimate if a professional could have predicted their actions would result in damages of some kind.
- Multifactor Tests - Multifactor Tests evaluate multiple factors to determine if there was a deviation from the applicable standard of care. These might include factors such as: severity of the injuries; exploring other courses of action the professional could have taken; The costs of those courses of action; And whether options were available that may have been safer or less harmful.
What is an Example of Professional Negligence?
Some examples of Professional Negligence include:
- A lawyer takes on a case for a client but fails to submit a claim within the statute of limitations. This would mean the client could no longer sue for their injuries. Here the lawyer failed to meet the standard of care. The client, in this case, may now be able to pursue a professional negligence claim in an effort to recoup losses.
- An accountant provides poor tax advice which leads to losses being suffered economically. If it can be demonstrated that the loss was caused by a deviation from the standard of care for that profession, the accountant may be liable.
Getting Help
The law limits the time you have to bring a claim for professional negligence. Call today to discuss your case with an experienced professional negligence lawyer or to schedule a free consultation.
