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.
More information about Malpractice
Pennsylvania Hospital to Pay $2.2 Million in Birth Injury Lawsuit
UPMC Hamot and several of its doctors have settled a lawsuit filed in 2008 against a woman alleging a “botched” delivery resulted in cerebral palsy and other medical problems for her child. The childbirth was in 1998.
The woman went to the hospital in February 1998, after going into labor two months prematurely. The lawsuit claims the medical staff failed to respond appropriately to indications that the fetus was in distress. Neither the hospital nor the doctors admitted any wrongdoing.
The child will not be able to live independently and suffers from cognitive impairment, seizures and motor and language delay.
According to The Erie Times-News, the $2.2 million will be placed in a special-needs trust and paid out over time to cover the costs of the child’s medical care over her lifetime.
About Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys
Munley Law is a Pennsylvania accident and injury law firm that represents car accident victims and their families throughout the state of Pennsylvania and the Northeast, […]
Read MoreMore information about Malpractice
Car Accident Round-Up – One Dead, Five Injured in Multi-Vehicle Crash in FL
Out-of-control vehicle spins into oncoming lane colliding with two other vehicles in fatal accident
FL Accident Kills One, Leaves Five Critically Injured
A multi-vehicle crash over the weekend in Frostproof, Florida left one person dead and five others critically injured. The Miami Herald reports that a vehicle on U.S. 27 northbound ran off the roadway, overcorrected and spun around sending it into the southbound lanes where it collided with two other vehicles. The driver of the out-of-control vehicle died; her two passengers were taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Three occupants of the other vehicles were listed in critical condition. Police were continuing to investigate the accident.
Heart Attack Kills Driver of Rock Band Bus in Iowa
According to the Ames Tribune, the driver of the charter bus for the rock band Widespread Panic apparently suffered a heart attack while driving the bus on Interstate 35 last week south of Ames, […]
More information about Malpractice
Car Accident Round-Up – Five Die in Fiery Michigan Accident
Both cars catch fire in wrong way car crash killing all five involved
MI Accident Kills Five in Wrong-Way Collision
In a tragic, fiery crash in Detroit, MI early Sunday morning, five people died when a driver traveling the wrong-way on the M-10 crashed head-on into another vehicle. An SUV carrying four people and a passenger car, with just the driver in the car, slammed into each other causing both cars to erupt into flames killing the occupants of both vehicles. Police are unsure of the cause of the accident and do not know which car was traveling the wrong way. The northbound lanes of the highway were shut down for nearly six hours.
Two Die in Multi-Vehicle FL Accident
NorthEscambia.com reports that a Friday morning accident on I-10 near Pensacola, FL took the lives of one adult and a child. […]
More information about Malpractice
Family of Injured Kentucky Nursing Home Patient to Receive $1 Million Settlement
According to an article in the Lexington-Herald Leader, a Fayette, Kentucky Circuit Court jury awarded the family of a nursing home patient $1 million for negligence resulting from a January 2009 incident. The Alzheimer’s patient, in her late 80s, at Lexington’s Cambridge Place Nursing Home suffered extensive injuries in a fall after she went missing from her room.
The lawsuit alleged the woman suffered broken bones in her face, bleeding in her brain, and a serious cut on her forehead, and various other injuries, after she fell from her Merry Walker, a walker that includes a seat, and was later found severely injured in an equipment storage room.
The case was previously reviewed by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the attorney general’s office. An adult-protection worker found that the woman was a “victim of caretaker neglect and had been exposed to an extreme safety risk.” […]
Read MoreMore information about Malpractice
Car Accident Round-Up – Motorcyclists Die in Florida Accident
Motorcyclist and passenger die after being hit from behind and thrown into traffic
FL Motorcyclist and Passenger Die in Multi-Vehicle Accident
Both the driver of a motorcycle and his passenger died when a Ford Explorer struck the cycle from behind on I-4 near mile marker 122 in DeLand, Florida early Sunday morning. The Sun-Sentinel reports both occupants were thrown from the motorcycle and were run over by approaching vehicles who could not avoid the wreckage. A third vehicle swerved and hit a tree leading to a fire. The driver of the Explorer fled the scene of the crash; however, police have identified a woman who is a person of interest.
Teenager Dies in KY Roll-Over Accident
A Monday afternoon car accident in Nelson County, KY, claimed the life of one teenager and sent two more to the hospital. The 17-year-old driver apparently lost control of her car as she was heading east on Old Bloomfield Road. […]
