What is Malpractice?
Malpractice is, “Any professional misconduct, unreasonable lack of skill or fidelity in professional or fiduciary duties, evil practice, or illegal or immoral conduct.” (Black’s Law Dictionary 1111. 4th Ed. Rev. 1968). It refers to negligence or misconduct by a professional that eventually leads to a client or patient being injured or damaged.
Malpractice is commonly referenced in the medical sense. However, malpractice exists in other professions such as accounting and law. Medical malpractice may involve a doctor giving the wrong diagnosis or botching a surgery, resulting in direct harm. Legal malpractice could involve a lawyer mishandling a case due to incompetence or neglect, resulting in their client losing out on financial gains or wrongfully spending time in prison.
Malpractice cases are usually resolved with legal proceedings where the plaintiff seeks monetary compensation from the accused professional. They depend on the proof that the plaintiff was not only harmed, but that the malpractice by the professional was the direct cause. This process is meant to hold professionals accountable for their actions, and protect innocent individuals from the consequences of negligence and misconduct. In cases where professionals are found to commit malpractice, such as Gregory v. McInnis et al, they are often restricted from practicing in that specific field again.
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Pennsylvania Drivers Urged to Slow Down
Many of our articles have focused on the dangers of distracted driving and drunk driving. However, with key safety campaigns aimed at raising awareness of the hazards of these two dangerous behaviors, drivers are beginning to put down their cell phones and drive only when sober. Now, according to a new study, speed-related crashes are on the rise.
The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reports that 31 percent of all traffic-related deaths in the United States in 2010 were caused by a speeding driver. Further, speeding is the “one highway safety area where progress has not been made in almost three decades.
According to the 2010 Pennsylvania Crash Facts and Statistics, 1,324 people died in auto accidents during the year. Of those, 459 were alcohol-related and 404 were speed-related. Just as the GSHA reports of the nationwide data, […]
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NHTSA Delays Ruling on Making Back-Up Cameras Mandatory
At the end of 2010 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it was considering a proposal to require all passenger vehicles to install back-up cameras to limit back-over accidents. Last week, however, the NHTSA announced it has postponed ruling on the mandatory requirements saying it needs to conduct “further study and data analysis.”
The Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act was named for a child who was killed by his father as he was backing out of his driveway not realizing the two-year-old boy was playing behind the vehicle. The ruling would be especially beneficial in protecting the lives of children, the elderly, and hearing and sight impaired pedestrians.
At the time the change was recommended, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said: “There is no more tragic accident than for a parent or caregiver to back out of a garage or driveway and kill or injure an undetected child playing behind the vehicle. […]
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Pennsylvania Teen Drivers Urged to Stay Alert
The start of 2012 has seen far too many teens lose their lives in car accidents. Just last week a local Pennsylvania teen died when his car skidded on ice and he crashed into a building, dying at the scene. Earlier this month, three teenagers traveling together went the wrong way on a MD road resulting in a crash that killed all three. And in Virginia at the end of January, one teen died and three others were seriously injured when the teen driver crossed the center line striking another vehicle.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), car accidents are the number one killer of teenagers in the United States, claiming nearly 5,600 teenage lives each year. While the above accidents are all unique, the cause of each of the accidents may not have been that different. The NHTSA has identified four primary causes for serious teen injury accidents: inexperience and immaturity combined with speed, […]
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Munley Supports Ban on Cell Phones While Driving
Pennsylvania car accident attorney Caroline Munley today applauded a federal agency’s recommendation for the prohibition of cell phone use by drivers of all personal and commercial vehicles.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in December that all drivers be prohibited from using cell phones and other electronic devices behind the wheel.
The proposal grew from the NTSB’s investigation of a multi-vehicle collision in Missouri in 2010 that was caused by a pickup truck driver who was distracted by a text-messaging conversation. The wreck killed two and injured 38.
“We support the NTSB’s recommendation for a complete ban on cell phone use by drivers of all motor vehicles,” said Munley of the Pennsylvania personal injury firm of Munley, Munley & Cartwright, P.C., which represents victims of car crashes and truck accidents throughout the Northeast. […]
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Ohio Oral Surgeon Faces Second Lawsuit
The Chronicle-Telegram reports a retired Lorain, Ohio oral surgeon is being sued for an undisclosed amount by a patient who claims she “was injured and was caused to suffer seizures, neurological damage and other severe and debilitating injuries, some of which were permanent in nature,” during treatment in Dec. 2010.
According to the article, a motion attached to the lawsuit seeks a 90-day enlargement of time to file an affidavit of merit, stating “there is strong reason to believe a cause of action exists” against the surgeon and unnamed nurses, dental assistants and/or health care professionals that the suit lists as defendants.
The physician had previously been sued when a 13-year-old patient died after receiving sedation prior to oral surgery in December 2010. The doctor’s insurance company paid $1 million to the family of the deceased girl, and the 81-year-old physician stopped giving intravenous sedation and agreed to retire in September. […]
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