Professional Liability Matters

May 28, 2013 Medical Malpractice

Wrongful Death Suit Questions Medical Treatment of Professional Athletes

Derek 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 …

May 23, 2013 General

Oh Brother: Financial Advisor Targeted for his Sibling’s Fraud

A financial advisor was recently named in a multi-million dollar malpractice matter in Texas arising from the alleged fraud of his brother. The financial advisor – the managing partner of DEW Wealth Strategies, LLC – allegedly allowed his brother to use the firm’s offices. Innocent enough, right? But according to the complaint, the brother and a company he owned, Gateway Special Opportunities Fund LLC, backed out of providing the plaintiff with millions in funding for a large condominium project in California. The brother ultimately …

May 22, 2013 Agents and Brokers / Insurance Products

Botched Weather Report Leads to Unusual Insurance Claim

A feud is developing between flower enthusiasts and the Philadelphia media arising from an “overly hyped” weather report. The possible remedy may be in the form of a lesser known insurance product. The Philadelphia Flower Show usually generates about $1 million in profits from its annual exhibit. But not this year. Reportedly, the show drew substantially fewer attendees than expected this year and organizers of the event are blaming a “botched” weather report. Now the event’s president is accusing Philadelphia media outlets of “…

May 21, 2013 Legal Malpractice

OJ Simpson’s Bid for Freedom: It’s My Lawyer’s Fault

OJ 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 …

May 20, 2013 Risk Management

Failure to Disclose Jeopardizes Coverage in Hefty Malpractice Claim

A law firm’s failure to disclose a potential claim on its insurance application may act as a waiver of coverage. Lloyd’s of London recently argued that coverage did not apply to a California based law firm in a multi-million dollar legal malpractice action. According to Lloyd’s, the professional liability insurance policy contained an exclusion for claims the firm knew or reasonably should have known about prior to the effective date of the policy. At the time the law firm procured the policy, an attorney from …

May 16, 2013 Cyber-Liability

Arrests Follow Massive, International Cyber-Heist

Recent 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 …

May 15, 2013 Legal Malpractice

Attorney Sued for Wrongful Death

One 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 …

May 14, 2013 Accountants

Golfer Tees-Up Professional Malpractice Lawsuit

A professional golfer – with a famous ex-fiance – recently filed a professional malpractice claim against his former accountant for allegedly concealing unpaid taxes in excess of $500,000. Hank Kuehne is an amateur champion who last played in a major tournament at the 2012 Honda Classic, but is perhaps best known for his prior engagement to tennis great Venus Williams. Reportedly, Kuehne had no idea of his mounting tax liability until he fired his advisor and retained a new accountant to manage …

May 9, 2013 Risk Management

Insurance Implications in the West, Texas Explosion

One million dollars of coverage for $100 million in losses? Unfortunately, that appears to be the case for the West, Texas fertilizer plant that recently exploded. Reportedly the owners of West Fertilizer Co. hold a negligible amount of insurance compared to the estimated cost of the damage caused by the blast. The plant did not hold excess or umbrella insurance policies. The fact that the company’s owner has not breached any applicable regulation has been the subject of heated debate on the national level regarding …

May 8, 2013 Legal Malpractice

Ignoring Prejudgment Interest = A Costly Mistake

Prejudgment 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. …