Malpractice Attorneys
Malpractice occurs in many professions - legal, medical, accounting, and financial brokers to name but a
few. Liability for malpractice requires proof of a violation of a professional standard of care. All states
provide this standard in somewhat different terminology yet the general theme is
consistent - all
professionals owe a duty to their clients which meets or exceeds the level of care provided by reasonable
prudent professionals holding the same license, with similar experience, in the same or similar
circumstance.
The most common actionable violations are based upon erroneous advice, a failure to warn, a failure to
act, or acting negligently in a particular circumstance. Many other actions may also violate the standard of
care owed by professionals to clients. Most claims require the assistance of a malpractice attorney before
claims are considered by malpractice carriers.
Damages & Malpractice Attorneys
A bad result is not enough to maintain a viable cause of action for malpractice. Two additional
requirements must be met. First, plaintiffs are assigned the burden of proof for a violation of the
applicable standard of care. Secondly, the violation must be a significant contributing cause of actual
damages. In addition to actual damages (i.e. expenses related to correcting harm caused), consequential
damages are normally allowed (those items of damage which are foreseeable in the future as the natural
result of malpractice). Local malpractice attorneys should be intimately familiar with
community standards of care.
See also: a plaintiff's perspective on legal and medical malpractice attorneys and settlements.
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