Editing Malpractice

{{Short description|Area of law concerning negligence by professionals}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Tort law}}

In the [[law]] of [[tort]]s, '''malpractice''', also known as [[professional negligence]],  is an "instance of [[negligence]] or incompetence on the part of a [[professional]]".<ref name="blacks">Malpractice definition, {{cite book|last1=Garner|first1=Bryan A.|title=Black's Law Dictionary|date=2009|publisher=West|isbn=978-0314199492|edition=9|url=https://archive.org/details/blacksl_xxx_2009_00_5869|url-access=registration|access-date=7 December 2017}}</ref>

Professionals who may become the subject of malpractice actions include:

* '''medical professionals''': a [[medical malpractice]] claim may be brought against a [[physician|doctor]] or other healthcare provider who fails to exercise the degree of [[Duty of care|care]] and skill that a similarly situated professional of the same [[medical specialty]] would provide under the circumstances.<ref>{{cite web|title=Malpractice|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malpractice|website=Merriam-Webster.com|publisher=Merriam-Webster, Inc.|access-date=7 December 2017}}</ref>
* '''lawyers''': a [[legal malpractice]] claim may be brought against a lawyer who fails to render services with the level of skill, care, and diligence that a [[Reasonable person|reasonable]] lawyer would apply under similar circumstances.<ref name="blacks"/>
* '''financial professionals''': professionals such as accountants, financial planners, and stockbrokers may be subject to claims for professional negligence based upon their failure to meet professional standards when providing services to their clients.
* '''architects and engineers''': a construction professional may be accused of professional negligence for failing to meet professional standards in the design and construction of buildings and structures.

==Proof of malpractice==
Professional negligence actions require a professional relationship between the professional and the person claiming to have been injured by malpractice.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jacobs|first1=Douglas|title=Suicide and Clinical Practice|date=1992|publisher=American Psychiatric Association Publishing|isbn=0880484551|page=[https://archive.org/details/suicideclinicalp00jaco/page/148 148]|url=https://archive.org/details/suicideclinicalp00jaco|url-access=registration|access-date=7 December 2017}}</ref> For example, to sue a lawyer for malpractice the person bringing the claim must have had an attorney-client relationship with the lawyer.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bresnahan|first1=Pamela A.|title=Beware the Cocktail Party Client|url=https://apps.americanbar.org/legalservices/lpl/downloads/journalsept99.pdf|website=American Bar Association|access-date=7 December 2017|date=September 1999}}</ref>

To succeed in a malpractice action under typical malpractice law, the person making a malpractice claim must prove that the professional committed an act of culpable negligence and that the person suffered an injury due to the professional's error.<ref>See, e.g., {{cite journal|last1=Bal|first1=B. Sonny|title=An Introduction to Medical Malpractice in the United States|journal=Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research|date=February 2009|volume=467|issue=2|pages=339–347|pmc=2628513|doi=10.1007/s11999-008-0636-2|pmid=19034593}}</ref>

==Medical malpractice==
{{main|Medical malpractice}}
Medical malpractice is a highly complex area of law, with laws that differ significantly between [[jurisdiction]]s.<ref name="marcus">{{cite journal|last1=Marcus|first1=Paul|title=Book Review of Medical Malpractice Law: A Comparative Law Study of Civil Responsibility Arising from Medical Care|journal=Hastings International and Comparative Law Review|date=1981|pages=235–243|url=http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/1138/|access-date=7 December 2017}}</ref>

In Australia, medical malpractice and the rise in claims against individual and institutional providers have led to the evolution of [[patient advocate]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-relations/patient-advocacy-20150920-gjr53j.html |title=Patient advocacy services ensure optimum health outcomes |last1=Kamaker |first1=Dorothy |date=September 26, 2015 |website=smh.com.au |publisher=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |access-date=August 23, 2016 }}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Malpractice| ]]
[[Category:Tort law]]


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