Articles Posted in Professional Malpractice

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Who would have thought dentists would fail to diagnose an oral problem. It happens.

“While many people don’t tend to think of their dentist as being someone they can sue, dental malpractice is more common than you might think. Certainly, in many instances, the dentist, if approached about a concern, will remedy the situation as soon as they can. However, if an injury is permanent, that may become another story and may also culminate in a lawsuit,” said Stephen M. Ozcomert, who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.

One thing potential plaintiffs need to know is that that dental malpractice, also referred to as dental negligence, does not always involve an injured patient. What it means, in addition to a physical injury, is that the dentist failed to spot a disease in their patient’s mouth during the course of an oral exam.

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While unusual, it can happen – instances where medical malpractice cases are ultimately tried twice.

“This case that we read about recently involved a young girl who suffered severe birth injuries – brain injuries. It was interesting in that it proves that these kinds of cases are always radically different, just sometimes similar, and that to get justice, a plaintiff needs the assistance of a seasoned personal injury lawyer,” said Stephen M. Ozcomert, who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.

The first jury that heard the initial case in 2008 handed down a “shockingly low” award, particularly given the extreme severity of the girl’s injuries, Ozcomert said. The first medical malpractice lawsuit was filed against the hospital in 2002. It took six years for a verdict.

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Professional malpractice refers to more than lawyers or doctors. It also includes accountants.

“Most people, when they hear the words ‘professional malpractice,’ think it refers to lawyers or doctors. While it may well refer to them, it is also a term used when talking about accounting malpractice. Simply put, accounting malpractice happens if any accounting professional is negligent in the performance of their duties,” said Stephen M. Ozcomert, who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.

To further explain professional standards for various individuals who are certified to practice, it’s vital to know that the institutes that certify these professionals have a list that outlines what the standard of care is for their members to provide to their customers. The list says what standards of care need to be met to protect the public from harm, deceit, malfeasance, etc.

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Unfortunately, over the last few years, the number of nursing malpractice cases has been increasing. This is not good news.

Evidently, nursing malpractice statistics have started to increase sharply over the last five years or so. The evidence of this is provided by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, whose figures reveal that registered nurses are now, more than ever, being held accountable for malpractice and negligence. The types of errors they are being held accountable for include medication errors, documentation errors and failure to assess or intervene.

It may be helpful to understand just what negligence actually means on the part of a medical professional from the point of view of an Atlanta personal injury attorney. A medical professional may be a doctor, EMT, RN, LPN, dentist, physiotherapist, radiation technician or anesthetist, etc. Negligence means they fail to perform a medical duty or obligation according to the “normal” standard of care. In many cases, nurses are also present when patients are injured mentally or physically.

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Malpractice can happen in just about any field. It’s not just exclusive to the medical profession.

When it comes to malpractice, people tend to automatically think medical malpractice. While there is a fair amount of medical malpractice happening these days, it isn’t just doctors and nurses that may be sued for malpractice.

In a nutshell, any professional with greater learning who makes a mistake and doesn’t treat you according to their level of higher learning, may be guilty of malpractice. Put another way, a malpractice case may involve those who have been specially educated or certified in some manner “not” doing their job up to the expected level.

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Investment fraud is a form of professional misconduct that unsuspecting people need to be aware of these days.

Investment fraud or investment scams generally have the same outcome – someone loses money they can’t afford to lose. They have been bilked into investing their hard earned dollars in a scheme that sounds “great” but the information is often fake and gravely misleading. Too often in situations like this the person who lost their savings doesn’t have much in the way of recourse to recover their losses.

The unfortunate thing here is that the financial planning industry seems to have more than its fair share of brokers and advisors who would think nothing of scamming their customers just to get rich quick. This isn’t to say that the brokerage industry isn’t regulated, because it is, by federal and state laws. Professional misconduct and fraud is definitely illegal and you may be interested in knowing some of the things to watch for when dealing with financial advisors that walk on the wild side.

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Time is of the essence when it comes to a medical diagnosis in a great number of cases. One indifferent or missed diagnosis may cause serious complications or death.

Diagnosing men with prostate cancer is a challenging art, but one that can be done if the doctor follows the standard and well accepted usual protocol of having their patient screened. Screening involves a blood test that looks for something called the prostate specific antigen (PSA). So, the PSA test tells a doctor how much PSA is in the bloodstream as a result of changes in the man’s prostate. As a man ages, the levels of PSA in their blood usually increase and their prostate also gets larger.

This particular test can be used to detect other things such as inflammation or various kinds of trauma, but primarily it is used as an early detection test for prostate cancer; an invaluable test in terms of reducing mortality risks. In other words, if the presence of cancer is detected early enough, something can be done about it quickly and with far less stress and anxiety than if the disease progresses.

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Been to the dentist lately and come away with something you didn’t expect? Dental malpractice is a real issue faced by patients in the chair.

In order to practice law, accounting, medicine and dentistry, among other professions, the dentist is required to have a license to practice in a certain state. This isn’t just a piece of paper that says nice words and welcome the dentist to the world of dentistry, this is a license that means that subject to heavy duty rules and regulations, they are allowed to practice their trade. Professional conduct is high on the list of things dentists are required to have.

Most states also have a licensing board that investigates complaints laid against dentists for various forms of negligence and malpractice. When in doubt about the rules and regulations in a certain state, it’s time to speak to a “licensed” and skilled medical malpractice attorney to find out the lay of the land. Knowing what rights a plaintiff has is a smart move. Even if the person inquiring suspects they may have been a victim of dental malpractice but are not sure, ask questions and find out how to proceed.

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Not a lot of people realize that they have the ability to sue their dentist for dental malpractice. If in doubt about a procedure that caused you harm, speak to a malpractice attorney.

Just about everyone realizes that lawyers generally carry malpractice insurance. However, not a lot of people realize their dentist also carries similar insurance for mistakes that they may make. Medical malpractice is fairly common and in most instances people will know immediately what that refers to when they see or read a news item. One doesn’t often read stories about dental malpractice, but it does happen. If you think your dentist has done something negligently and has caused you serious harm, speak to an experienced malpractice lawyer and find out what your rights are.

Statistically speaking, dental malpractice claims have held relatively steady for the last ten years or so. The one area where dental malpractice claims differ from medical malpractice cases is in the area of damages awarded. In other words, dental malpractice claims are usually smaller. Typically, when harm does occur, it happens due to improper treatment or services for the patient or the dentist failed to spot or correctly diagnose problems.

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There’s a fairly prevalent myth going around that it is impossible to sue a lawyer. This is inaccurate, as you are able to sue a lawyer for legal malpractice.

If you don’t happen to be that thrilled with the work your attorney did for you, didn’t like the representation, questioned how things were handled and felt you were being misled, you may consider a legal malpractice claim. Of interest is that a claim may also be filed in instances of client-attorney disagreements over fees and in relation to ethical violations by the lawyer. As you can see, there are several alternatives open to you, each of course being a different case, mandating a different way to handle it.

Generally speaking suing an attorney would fall into one or more of three categories. One of those classifications is breach of fiduciary duty. This is a claim that you file if you have a conflict of interest with your lawyer. Keep in mind that this type of claim is only considered if the attorney’s breach harmed you in some way. For instance, you may file a malpractice claim if your attorney misused/mishandled monies while handling your case. If the attorney settled your case for less or misrepresented it and didn’t tell you about it because of their social or financial connections, this could be grounds for professional malpractice as well.

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