LATEST INSIGHTS

Professional Liability Monthly

Professional Liability Monthly – December Edition is Now Available

Featured headlines in this edition of Professional Liability Monthly:

  • No Breach of Fiduciary Duty Where the Plaintiff Alleged That the Defendant Insurance Agency Procured an Inadequate Policy
  • Disclosure of Medical Records From Patients Other Than the Plaintiff Denied by Court
  • Improper Reference to Smoking History in Medical Malpractice Case Leads to New Trial
  • Expert Gastroenterologist Should Have Been Permitted to Testify as to Causation
  • Dispute Over Date of Discovery of Actionable Harm Prevents Defendants From Obtaining Summary Judgment
  • A Defendant’s Counterclaim Alleging Legal Malpractice
… Continue Reading
Design Professionals (A&E)

3-D Liability? New Printing Technology Means New Exposure

As 3-D printing continues to grow in popularity, PL Matters wonders how this technology will impact the professional malpractice community. Now 3-D users may bring any virtual object to life by directing it to a specialized printer that prints in layers of rubber, plastic, paper or other materials. Once cost-prohibitive and mainly utilized by the medical field (to create prosthetics), the machines are now available to the public for personal and commercial use. But as the machines are more readily available, what happens when the …

Continue Reading
Employment Practices Liability

Off The Clock, On The Hook: Unintended Consequences Of Working Remotely

Sitting down to dinner but still have a long to-do list from the office? Hear your work e-mails pinging as you watch the game? Not a problem that you can’t handle with your smartphone or tablet. Whatever your take on this 24/7 connectivity, it is undeniable that the proliferation of mobile devices has made working away from the office easier and perhaps expected by employers (and clients). While such a policy may result in an increase in productivity, it can also create a legal risk …

Continue Reading
Legal Malpractice / Risk Management

Who Can Sue Me? Liability to Non-Clients

Generally an attorney only owes a duty of care to her client. Thus, a predicate to a meritorious legal malpractice action is the existence of an attorney-client relationship. But, identifying this relationship and determining to whom that duty extends is not simple. A recent decision demonstrates that an attorney may be exposed to malpractice based on the expectations of non-clients.

In Pete v. Anderson, (Nov. 21, 2013) the Kentucky Supreme Court considered whether the children of a man who died in an auto accident …

Continue Reading
Risk Management

When Does a Professional Liability “Claim” Arise?

Professional liability insurance policies cover professionals for claims arising within the agreed upon policy period. At first blush this appears to be a relatively simple concept but there is plenty of room for confusion which can result in a lack of coverage. What is a claim? The fact that a lawsuit was filed within a policy period does not necessarily mean that the “claim” giving rise to the lawsuit is covered under a PL policy. A perfect example of this issue was presented to the …

Continue Reading
Legal Malpractice / Risk Management

Tripartite Relationship Put to the Test

The so-called “tripartite” relationship exists when an insurer retains defense counsel to represent the interests of the insured. Against this backdrop, it is relatively uncommon for an insurer to maintain a successful claim against defense counsel. In the majority of states, direct malpractice claims by an insurer are disfavored. The theory behind these decisions stems from the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship and a hesitation to interfere with defense counsel’s duty to the insured in the tripartite scenario. Accordingly, few claims of this nature succeed. …

Continue Reading
Risk Management

Leave ‘Em at Home: Don’t Bring Anything to a Depo

Have you ever considered the consequences of a witness bringing her mobile phone to a deposition? May a deposing attorney ask a witness to retrieve information stored on a hand-held device during a deposition? Many lawyers may fail to anticipate the consequences of a witness bringing documents or other materials to a deposition and may overlook this issue when preparing the client. This lack of foresight can lead to unintended discovery disclosures.

Take, for instance, a witness who pulls out a document when questioned and …

Continue Reading
Employment Practices Liability

Workplace Bullying: More than a Dolphins’ Problem

Thanks to the developing news regarding the Miami Dolphins, workplace bullying has generated national attention. There has been considerable press of late concerning school bullying and its impact on children but it is now clearer than ever that in some environments, bullying can exist in the workplace and can cause serious damage to professionals and their employers.

How bad could things be for Jonathan Martin? The 24-year-old received a signing bonus of $1,919,468 after leaving Stanford as a second round draft pick. He …

Continue Reading
Legal Malpractice

Dual Representation Leads to Malpractice

We previously discussed the potential for a conflict arising when an attorney represents an employer and possibly an employee in the context of the Penn State/Sandusky scandal. The issue for the attorney is to delineate whether she represents the employer, the employee or both. An attorney cannot wear all the hats and therefore must disclose to an employee the possibility of a conflict. A recent decision from the California Court of Appeals demonstrates how easily a conflict may arise in this scenario.

In Yanez v. …

Continue Reading