INJURY | PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER | PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY | INJURIES

Professional negligence is when a person attempts to pass him or herself off as an expert and produces work or makes decisions that result in other people’s losses. This occurs when people begin practicing a profession without receiving the proper education, certification or experience. It can also happen when a person claims to specialize in a certain area, but doesn’t. Professional negligence cases happen with:

• doctors
• lawyers
• architects
• engineers
• accountants
• financial planners
• construction site managers
• surveyors

In typical professional negligence cases, the plaintiff has experienced a financial loss, property loss, or personal injury because of the person who claimed to be an expert.

For example, here is a list of possible scenarios:

• a financial planner or investment banker fails to handle money correctly and loses it because he or she is ignorant of investment methods
• a surveyor incorrectly surveys a property, which results in loss of money when the property is sold
• an accountant gives incorrect tax advice, which results in an audit a loss of money
• a lawyer loses a case due to having no experience with the type of law the case required, even though he/she claimed to be a specialist
• a doctor practices without a license and fails to diagnose cancer

Cases in which doctors injure people because of professional negligence are usually first and foremost categorized as medical malpractice or hospital negligence cases (because the hospital employed someone who wasn’t properly certified or didn’t have adequate experience).

It is sometimes difficult to prove professional negligence. If you have been a victim of professional negligence, contact an attorney.