Also known as: malpractice actions · malpractice suit · malpractice claim
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A civil lawsuit in which a client or patient seeks damages from a professional for harm caused by the professional's failure to meet the applicable standard of care in rendering services.
Melanie Morris hired an attorney to pursue a personal injury claim with a two-year statute of limitations. The attorney missed the deadline, paid Morris a sum from personal funds to quiet her, and never mentioned that she might have a claim against him. When Morris later learned of the option to sue for malpractice, the attorney's conduct triggered both a civil action and professional discipline proceedings.
Miguel Mendoza retained counsel to file a contract claim that had to be brought within one year. Counsel miscalculated the deadline and the claim was dismissed. Mendoza sued the lawyer for the lost recovery. The court allowed the malpractice action to proceed even though the single error would not by itself support bar discipline.
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Michelle Murphy consulted a surgeon about back surgery. The surgeon did not disclose a known risk of paralysis that materialized during the procedure. Murphy sued the surgeon in a malpractice action alleging failure to obtain informed consent. The court examined whether a reasonable patient would have declined the operation had the risk been disclosed.
Madison Meyers underwent a hysterectomy after her physician described only routine surgical risks. Post-operative complications revealed a fistula that required further operations. Meyers brought a malpractice action claiming the physician failed to disclose the possibility of this specific injury. The court required proof that disclosure would have led her to refuse the procedure.
Mariam Mansour discovered that a painting she believed had been destroyed decades earlier was now in a museum collection. She filed a malpractice action against the attorney who had advised her years before that no legal remedy existed. The suit turned on whether the attorney's earlier advice breached the duty of care given the facts then known.
The plaintiff must show an attorney-client relationship, a breach of the attorney's duty, damages, and that the breach proximately caused those damages.
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No. A single act of negligence may give rise to a civil malpractice action yet fall short of the gross unfitness required for professional discipline.
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Concealment occurs when the attorney pays the client personally, fails to disclose the potential malpractice claim, and does not advise the client to seek independent counsel.
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The patient must show that a reasonable person in the same circumstances would have refused the treatment if the undisclosed risk had been revealed.
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No. The client's remedy lies in a malpractice action against the lawyer rather than relief from the judgment itself.
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…Occurrence of the risk must be harmful to the patient, for negligence unrelated to injury is nonactionable.[^maj-100] And, as in malpractice actions generally,[^maj-101] there must be a causal relationship between the physician’s failure to adequately divulge and damage to the patient.[^maj-102] A causal connection exists when, but…