Throughout our lives, people often have to engage a professional to help them with a difficult situation. Professionals come in a variety of fields including: accountants, attorneys, architects, physicians, and others. Unfortunately, there are times when these professionals can make mistakes and cause damage to the clients that have hired them. In these settings, a malpractice actions can be filed to address the wrongs caused to them by professionals. Generally speaking, all professional persons are required to exercise the skill and knowledge normally possessed by the same type of professionals in their community.

If a professional deviates from this level of care and skill, or if they fail to exercise the basic skills required by their profession, then a malpractice action can be filed against them. While malpractice actions generally have the same underlying principles across professional settings, there are slight differences in how the malpractice actions are proved depending on the type of professional involved.

For instance, in an action against an attorney for failure to institute an action, the Plaintiff must show the amount of the judgment which could have been recovered in that action. In a medical malpractice action, the Plaintiff must show that the illness or injury was the natural and probable consequence of the physician’s negligence. The manner by which these evidentiary burdens are met are complicated and require the use of an attorney’s skill and experience. If you have any questions about malpractice actions, please feel free to give my office a call.