Negligence is when a person does not perform duties he or she has an obligation to do. It can occur in a variety of situations.
Professional negligence is when a person providing professional services fails to perform according to industry standards or otherwise breaks laws or rules concerning their job duties or ethics.
Common situations
Common professionals who face negligence claims are in the legal and medical professions. Individuals can claim an attorney did not fulfill his or her legal obligations, which led to harm to the person concerning his or her case. Medical professionals often face medical malpractice claims, which are essentially a patient saying the doctor or other medical worker did not provide the proper level of care or otherwise made a mistake that caused the patient harm.
Main points
In professional negligence cases, one of the main points is the person making the claim has to suffer some type of harm. This might be physical harm, such as wrong-site surgery, monetary loss, or, in the case of a legal situation, a loss of freedom due to a conviction caused by a lack of proper representation.
Those claiming negligence also have to show exactly what actions caused the harm. They must link those actions or inactions to the harm, showing that the professional’s lack of performance led to their damages.
Professional negligence is a serious claim. It can harm someone’s career, but for those who suffer due to an inept professional, being able to make such a claim can allow them to recoup money and hold the professional responsible so that they cannot harm anyone else.
