Doctors, engineers, architects, attorneys, and other professionals are legally held to a higher standard of care, requiring them to perform their duties with the level of competence and skill expected of their profession. The conduct of these professionals is often regulated by additional standards imposed by law, agency regulation, or by a profession’s self-governance.
Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance generally does not cover for professional liability issues, therefore medical, legal, and other professionals often carry professional liability, acts and omissions, or errors and omissions insurance to protect themselves against malpractice claims.
Professionals often offer services in situations where the outcome cannot be fully predicted, such as a courtroom, an operating room, or in designing and engineering structures. If a less than desirable outcome occurs, one’s first reaction is to blame the professional. Attorneys, doctors, architects, engineers, and other professionals are perceived as having deep pockets. Milton Bradley did always give lawyers and doctors the highest salaries in Life. Also, because they have a reputation to uphold, these professionals are targeted for quick settlements.
Defending malpractice claims successfully often requires the skilled handling of the underlying liability issues through all phases of the litigation. The attorneys at Farmer, House, Osuna & Olvera have decades of experience defending professionals and the underlying causes of action on both the issues of liability and malpractice.