Professional Malpractice
Clients sometimes come to the firm with legitimate claims of human error by professionals such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers and architects. Such professionals sometimes come to us to defend a baseless claim or to offer guidance on the resolution of meritorious claims where liability insurance is in question. The firm is pleased to represent any client in need of counsel for a meritorious claim or a legitimate defense.
Claims of malpractice against any professional are serious matters. The firm’s litigators have the experience and judgment to distinguish between matters that deserve prosecution and those matters that simply do not give rise to a claim the law can remedy. Similarly, the litigators know how to counsel a professional who confronts genuine potential liability for an error.
The firm has not hesitated to proceed to jury trial on behalf of victims of malpractice where the professional and his insurance company have refused a reasonable settlement.
While the term “malpractice” is most commonly associated with medical professionals, all professionals must provide their services in a competent and responsible manner. When a professional fails to live up to this standard and it causes harm to the patient or client, the injured party can make a claim for their physical, emotional and financial damages.
Medical Malpractice
At Fletcher Tilton, we have extensive experience handling cases in which a patient has suffered injury or loss due to a medical professional’s carelessness. There are numerous laws and evidentiary rules that apply specifically to actions for medical malpractice, and this adds a layer of complexity to pursuing any claim successfully.
For example, under most circumstances, a patient must provide formal notice to their treating medical professional before filing a lawsuit. If a lawsuit is filed, the patient and their legal team must be prepared with medical records and expert evidence to avoid risking an early dismissal.
If you are a physician or medical professional facing allegations of malpractice, or a complaint against your professional license, sound legal guidance is crucial. This is particularly true if you have received a reservation of rights letter from your professional liability insurer.
Professional Malpractice
As in the field of medicine, other professionals that perform their services in a careless manner can cause harm to their clients. Similar to actions for medical malpractice, actions for negligence against a trained professional are complicated, and it is important to retain a legal team with experience handling such matters.
The attorneys at Fletcher Tilton have extensive experience representing:
- Clients that have suffered damages resulting from professional malpractice
- Professionals who are faced with a claim for malpractice
- Professionals who face disciplinary action by a state licensing board
Representative Matters:
- For a Framingham-based business whose former accountant embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars and falsified the company’s records to conceal the missing funds, we obtained emergency injunctive relief.
- We led an internal investigation for a prominent local bank accused of negligently failing to detect a third party’s attempt to defraud a bank customer.
- Our firm successfully represented an out-of-state oil company in years-long litigation against an insurance company involving bad faith claims practices.
- The firm many times has guided professionals through the litigation process in circumstances under which the liability is real and the liability insurance is insufficient to protect the professional. The firm has advised doctors, accountants and others with respect to how to deal with the insurance companies and the claimants to reach a settlement within the policy limits. For instance, the firm’s litigators have negotiated a Hi-Lo agreement on behalf of a doctor to protect the doctor from any jury verdict that might exceed his insurance policy limits.
