Professional Liability Matters
Legal Developments and Risk Management Tips Impacting the Professional Liability Community.
Cases provided courtesy of LexisNexis.
ARTEAGA v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BERGSTRESSER v. BRISTOL MYERS-SQUIBB CO.,
BOARD OF MANAGERS OF NV v. MORTON ET. AL.
GROGINS, et. al. v. LAMPERT, WILLIAMS & TOOHEY, LLC
NICHOLS v. THE MILFORD PEDIATRIC GROUP, P.C.
SOJA et. al. v. KEYSTONE TROZZE, LLC
USACM LIQUIDATING TRUST v. DELOITTE & TOUCHE
VILLANUEVA v. FIRST AMERICAN TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY
Continue ReadingDerek Boogaard was a professional hockey player known for his fists more than his skill with the puck. His unexpected death in 2011, and the recent lawsuit that followed, renews questions concerning the obligations of the physicians tasked with treating professional athletes. While publicity over this litigation trend is largely focused on the NFL’s safety precautions, this recent suit has ignited a firestorm of questions over the adequacy of medical care provided to all athletes and may open the door to increased liability.
The …
Continue ReadingOJ Simpson’s fall from fame is well documented. The disgraced football running back’s latest legal woes stem from an altercation in a hotel room in which the Juice was allegedly joined by armed men. That story ended with his incarceration. Now, OJ is back in a Las Vegas courtroom with a new team of attorneys and a novel argument: Simpson’s former attorney is to blame for the 2008 conviction. In the latest chapter in OJ’s lengthy legal history, the “Juice” claims that poor legal …
Continue ReadingRecent arrests followed one of the more complex cyber attacks in history. $45 million was reportedly stolen in the blink of an eye but it may take years to comb through the unprecedented cyber-liability issues. Two major banks are now evaluating novel liability issues and presumably deciding whether to lodge a series of lawsuits with major implications on the landscape of cyber-liability.
This week the press reported that the Oman-based bank of Muscat and the United Arab Emirates-based National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah PSC …
Continue ReadingOne of the foundations of the attorney-client relationship is confidentiality. Apart from limited exceptions, attorneys are generally precluded from disclosing a client’s confidential information to a third-party and must act at all times in the client’s best interest. It is well established that failure to do so may constitute an ethical violation and perhaps professional misconduct. A recent $40 million lawsuit claims that an attorney’s breach of his client’s confidences led to the client’s murder. Uh oh.
A wrongful death suit filed last week by …
Continue ReadingPrejudgment interest awards are often overlooked in evaluating a claim, especially legal malpractice matters. Typically, when valuing exposure, the focus centers upon the underlying action had the attorney avoided alleged negligence. But overlooking the impact of prejudgment interest can prove to be a costly mistake. Depending upon the statutory interest rate in your jurisdiction and the potential amount of the award, prejudgment interest can transform a nuisance value malpractice case into a hefty judgment.
Consider Corsiatto v. Maddalone, March, 2013 N.Y.Slip. Op. 30553, (Sup. …
Continue ReadingAccording to a recent study, real estate transactions pose the most risk to attorneys of a malpractice claim. In its annual survey, the American Bar Association reported a higher percentage of professional liability claims stemming from real estate dealings than any other area. Over the past several years, plaintiff personal injury claims topped the list, but to the joy of the plaintiff’s bar and the chagrin of real estate professionals, that trend is apparently changing.
The top three types of activity leading to the majority …
Continue ReadingMarketing is a must for all professionals. The quality of a professional’s skills may be wasted unless marketed to, and utilized by, would-be clients. Thus, professionals strive for efficiency in targeting an audience but those efforts are tempered by ethical considerations in advertising. However, solicitation just got considerably easier for attorneys in Ohio who may now reach potential clients via text.
It was not so long ago that most forms of attorney advertising were prohibited by every bar in the country. Pursuant to the …
Continue ReadingWe’re inundated with online advice, whether solicited or not. Many of us utilize various online sources to obtain quick answers without live, in-person consultation from a licensed professional. WebMD is the classic example of such a site but there are countless others devoted to providing professional advice to an unknown audience. We previously warned of the malpractice and ethical risks of providing online professional services when we posted about the lawsuit filed against Dr. Oz following his infamous “sleep aid solution.” To combat these risks, …
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