What is Malpractice?
Wikipedia defines malpractice generally as: an instance of negligence or incompetence on the part of a professional.
Malpractice includes negligence or misconduct on the part of a professional individual be that a doctor, a lawyer, a dentist or similar. Malpractice is reached when the failure to meet a standard of care or standard of conduct results in client injury or damage is caused to the client due to the error.
Malpractice can happen in the medical profession, in particular with surgeons or other specialist practitioners who perform in areas often perceived to be high risk. Other areas where professional malpractice can be seen is in legal, financial and even real estate.
In terms of the legal elements involved, a typical professional malpractice lawsuit will incorporate an allegation involving the Tort of negligence by the professional in question. Negligence specifically is conduct that is said to fall below the legally established or recognized standard for the protection of others against reasonable risk of harm. To be specific, under negligence law a person must violate a reasonable standard of care.
An April 2013 article in the Globe and Mail, demonstrates the challenges most victims of medical malpractice face when bringing a medial malpractice lawsuit in Canada:
“Many victims of serious medical errors cannot work, or they have huge expenses for ongoing rehabilitation and medical care. Against such overwhelming financial odds, Canadian victims of medical malpractice face huge challenges to obtain just and fair compensation for their injuries,” writes Halifax lawyer, John McKiggan.
At Mullowney’s Law in Ottawa, we have experience in dealing with professional malpractice lawsuits. We will deal with your malpractice case professionally and efficiently and in great confidence.
For more information, check out our 60 second video on this subject.