Professional Negligence Lawsuits: Whose Fault is it?
The legal elements of negligence or strict liability are relatively straightforward – a legal duty was owed and this duty was breached thus causing damages. Proving each element can be more difficult and requires facts and evidence with a thorough investigation of the details and circumstances of an injury claim in order to make an informed and legally sound liability decision.
- Duty: A legal duty owed by the defendant to the plaintiff must exist in every successful injury claim and refers to the legal responsibility one person has to avoid causing harm to another. In a personal injury claim or lawsuit, the first step in proving that another person was negligent is to establish owed duty of care in the situation that gave rise to the injury.
- Breach: The victim (plaintiff) needs evidence to show exactly how the other party (defendant) failed to meet that duty and therefore breached the duty of care.
- Causation: The defendant must be the cause of the plaintiff’s harm or injuries.
- Damages: The plaintiff must incur actual damages from the incident. This means things like incurred medical bills, lost income from time missed at work, property damage, etc.
Examples of Professional Negligence
Professional negligence is a more specific term for the broader category of negligence that can occur within any professional industry. Examples of professional negligence include:
- Legal missteps, in the case of incorrect legal advice
- Medical malpractice, in the case of missed diagnoses
- Accounting negligence, in the event of computing errors
- IT errors, such as poorly secured data leading to data breaches
Contact a Professional Negligence Attorney
If you have been the victim of professional negligence the law office of Bellas & Wachowski has over 25 years of experience in Professional Negligence cases and offers free consultations.
Contact us for a free case review by calling 866-699-3339 or complete the case request form.