Malpractice Lawsuit

When a professional does something improper, immoral or illegal while performing his duties either intentionally or because of carelessness or ignorance, he is said to have committed a malpractice. The professional here fails to follow generally accepted standards and guidelines causing damage to the client or person using his services. The most talked about malpractices are medical practices (applicable to physicians, surgeons, dentists) and legal malpractices (applicable to lawyers). Though, legal suits for malpractices against accountants (in the case of Arthur Andersen) and investment advisers (in the case of Merrill Lynch) have also been reported.

A malpractice lawsuit alleges the professional of negligence, of not performing as per the legally prescribed standards thus not protecting the client against unreasonable risk. Doctors who provide bad, unskilled and negligent treatment cause injuries to a patient. Similarly a lawyer who fails to file a suit on behalf of his client within the limitation period prescribed by the law is negligent in his action. Many states have passed laws codifying well-defined standards of the profession in order to establish whether a particular treatment or service provided was negligent or not.

A physician can prevent a malpractice lawsuit from going to the court by following simple procedures. He should increase clarity of his notes provided to the patient besides improving communication and fixing lapses in patient service. He should avoid all non-clinical errors and add a consent-to-settle clause before treatment. A mild apology sometimes settles the issue amicably if the consequence is not severe.

It is generally accepted that malpractice lawsuits should be filed to claim damages from the erring professional. At the same time, it is not a good practice to sue a professional for frivolous reasons when the professional has not committed a mistake or erred while dispensing his professional duties.

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