Malpractice

The breach by a member of a profession of either a standard of care or a standard of conduct.

Malpractice refers to Negligence or misconduct by a professional person, such as a lawyer, a doctor, a dentist,
or an accountant. The failure to meet a standard of care or standard of conduct that is recognized by a
profession reaches the level of malpractice when a client or patient is injured or damaged because of error.
After the 1970s the number of malpractice suits filed against professionals greatly increased. Most malpractice
suits involved doctors, especially surgeons and other specialists who performed medical procedures with a high
degree of risk to their patients. Large damage awards against doctors resulted in higher malpractice insurance
costs. Similarly, the increase of malpractice awards against lawyers led to higher insurance premiums and
caused some insurance companies to stop writing malpractice policies altogether.
The typical malpractice suit will allege the TORT of negligence by the professional. Negligence is conduct that
falls below the legally established standard for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm.
Under negligence law a person must violate a reasonable standard of care. Typically this has meant the
customary or usual practice of members of the profession. For example, if a surgeon leaves a sponge or
surgical tool inside a patient, the surgeon's carelessness violates a basic standard of care. Likewise, if an
attorney fails to file a lawsuit for a client within the time limits required by law, the attorney may be charged with
negligence.


Barratry
In Criminal Law, the frequent incitement of lawsuits and quarrels that is a punishable offense.
Barratry is most commonly applied to an attorney who attempts to bring about a lawsuit that will be profitable to
her or him. Barratry is an offense both at Common Law and under some state statutes. The broader common-
law crime has been limited by certain statutes. An attorney who is overly officious in instigating or encouraging
prosecution of groundless litigation might be guilty of common barratry under a particular statute. The
requirement for the crime of barratry is that repeated or persistent acts of litigation are performed by the
accused. Barratry is generally a misdemeanor punishable by fine or imprisonment. In the case of an attorney,
disbarment is the usual punishment. Since few cases have been prosecuted, barratry is considered by the legal
community at large to be an archaic crime. This is particularly true today due to a highly litigious atmosphere.
In maritime law, barratry is the commission of an act by the master or mariners of a vessel for an unlawful or
fraudulent purpose that is contrary to the duty owed to the owners, by which act the owners sustain injury.
A form of barratry is misconduct of the master of a ship in taking commodities on board that subject the ship to
seizure for Smuggling. It is essential in barratry that a criminal act or intent exist on the part of the master or
mariners which inures to their own benefit and causes injury to the owners of the ship.
Ambulance Chaser
A colloquial phrase that is used derisively for a person who is hired by an attorney to seek
out Negligence cases at the scenes of accidents or in hospitals where injured parties are treated, in exchange
for a percentage of the damages that will be recovered in the case.
Also used to describe attorneys who, upon learning of a personal injury that might have been caused by the
negligence or the wrongful act of another, immediately contact the victim for consent to represent him or her in
a lawsuit in exchange for a Contingent Fee, a percentage of the judgment recovered.