Filed under: Management, SE Positioning | Tags: Design, Fundamentals, Malpractice, Of, Professional
In today’s litigious society, no profession can escape the cost and aggravation of legal claims and suits. Design Professionals, architects and engineers, are no exception. One important and distinct type of claim or suit is the professional liability or malpractice claim.
A variety of other types of claims and suits may be made against the design professional, such as claims for ordinary negligence, such as automobile liability cases, or slip and falls on the company’s property. There are suits for wrongful employment practices such as discrimination, sexual harassment, or wrongful discharge. Finally, there are suits for commercial disputes over contracts, trade secrets, and patents.
Professional liability claims are unique and distinct from other types of claims because they are made against the professional in relation to the performance of professional services and the specific duties owed by professionals which are not applicable to the public at large. As a result special rules and standards apply to these claims that do not apply to other types of negligence actions.
A claimant may file a claim or suit asserting professional negligence, as a tort, such as negligence or misrepresentation, or may assert the claim as a breach of contract claim or that the design professional was negligent in the performance of its contractual duties.
ELEMENTS OF A CAUSE OF ACTION FOR PROFESSIONAL MALPRACTICE
In the absence of a specific contractual undertaking, the architect or engineer design professional owes legal duties to perform their work in accordance with the standard of practice of their profession.
Generally speaking, in order to prevail on a professional malpractice or professional negligence cause of action, the Plaintiff must assert and establish:
a. what the standard of practice is for the design professional under the circumstances; (more…)
