malpractice

Professional misconduct or unreasonable lack of skill. This term is usually applied to such conduct by doctors, lawyers, and accountants. Failure of one rendering professional services to exercise that degree of skill and learning commonly applied under all the circumstances in the community by the average prudent reputable member of the profession with the result of injury, loss or damage to the recipient of those services or to those entitled to rely upon them. It is any professional misconduct, unreasonable lack of skill or fidelity in professional or fiduciary duties, evil practice, or illegal or immoral conduct. Matthews v. Walker, 34 Ohio App.2d 128, 296 N.E.2d 569, 571, 63 O.O.2d 208.

See also discovery rule

- standard of care

- legal malpractice

- medical malpractice.

@ legal malpractice

Consists of failure of an attorney to use such skill, prudence, and diligence as lawyers of ordinary skill and capacity commonly possess and exercise in performance of tasks which they undertake, and when such failure proximately causes damage it gives rise to an action in tort. Neel v. Magana, Olney, Levy, Cathcart and Gelfand, 6 Cal.3d 176, 98 Cal.Rptr. 837, 838, 491 P.2d 421

@ medical malpractice

In medical malpractice litigation, negligence is the predominant theory of liability. In order to recover for negligent malpractice, the plaintiff must establish the following elements:

(1) the existence of the physician's duty to the plaintiff, usually based upon the existence of the physician-patient relationship;

(2) the applicable standard of care and its violation;

(3) a compensable injury; and,

(4) a causal connection between the violation of the standard of care and the harm complained of. Kosberg v. Washington Hospital Center, Inc., 129 U.S.App.D.C. 322, 394 F.2d 947, 949.

See also captain of the ship doctrine

- continuous Treatment Doctrine

- discovery rule

- maltreatment

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