From our offices in Sherman Oaks, we serve clients throughout Southern California.

  1. Home
  2.  → 
  3. Medical Malpractice
  4.  → Need-To-Know Facts About Professional Malpractice

Need-To-Know Facts About Professional Malpractice

On Behalf of | Jun 30, 2018 | Medical Malpractice

Malpractice is a term many people have heard of, but not everyone has an in-depth understanding of what the term means. Malpractice is a Latin-based word, literally translated as “bad practice”. However, in the legal world, malpractice suits need to meet certain criteria in order to be successful. There are two types of professional malpractice everyone should be familiar with: medical malpractice and legal malpractice.

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice is probably the best-known form of professional malpractice. When medical professionals’ actions (or inactions, in some cases) are deemed negligent, they can be charged with medical malpractice. According to data published by the National Practitioner Data Bank, California was one of the top four states for medical malpractice lawsuits, with the others being Texas, New York, and Florida. More than one-third of practicing physicians in these states had to make a payment due to malpractice claims filed against them over a ten-year period.

Legal Malpractice

A perhaps lesser-known but still potentially destructive form of malpractice is legal malpractice. If a legal professional, such as a trial attorney, displays negligence when handling a case, he or she can be sued for legal malpractice. Acts of legal malpractice can range from failure to know or apply a given law to losing a document critical to the success of a legal case. Although lives may not be on the line in a courtroom in the same way they are when in an operating room, legal malpractice can still impact lives in negative ways.

Medical Malpractice Can Cause Injury And Death

A doctor or nurse’s negligence can have injurious or even fatal consequences for the patients they treat. If a surgeon fails to remove a pad of gauze from a patient before inserting stitches, the foreign object left behind can wreak havoc on the patient’s body. If proper hygiene methods are disregarded, a patient could wind up with a severe blood infection resulting in death. Medical malpractice is a grave offense because of the huge amount of trust we place in medical professionals to keep us healthy—or at least, to do us no harm.

Legal Malpractice Can Also Have Life-Altering Consequences

Acts of legal malpractice can also seriously affect clients’ lives. If your lawyer doesn’t know about or apply a law that pertains to your case, your case can crumble apart due to the negligence of the person you entrusted with your legal case. Even a failure to meet or know about a given deadline that was relevant to your legal case could be viewed as an act of negligence on your lawyer’s part—and thus, an act of legal malpractice.

Has Your Life Been Impacted By Professional Malpractice?

If you or someone you care about has been affected by either legal or medical malpractice, contact the California medical malpractice lawyer at Licata & Yeremenko, A Professional Law Corporation today. The legal experts at Licata & Yeremenko, A Professional Law Corporation have the knowledge and skill to evaluate your case and help you find justice for the injuries and damages you have suffered as a result of professional malpractice.

Archives