Professional Malpractice

Author: Andrew Lavoott Bluestone
Date: October 04, 2013

Professional Malpractice is more than just legal malpractice. Under New York law, questions about how a professional handles work for a client is called “professional malpractice.” It is different from other torts, and is limited to “professionals.”

Who are these professionals? They are the specialists that people use every day to accomplish the most important and significant tasks. Professionals can be architects, accountants, CPAs, stock brokers, Insurance brokers, Real Estate Brokers, Engineers, Construction Managers, therapists, Counselors, and a whole host of other people who engage in a specialized area.

What can go wrong? Of course many things can go wrong. Accountants and CPAs can file papers late, they can miscalculate taxes, they can give bad advice on deductibility. Architects can render drawings that do not fit building code, they can give advice that results in dangerous premises, they can fail to advise clients of deadlines and the need to obtain permits.

Stock brokers are often sued for “churning”. Churning is the practice of buying and selling securities for a client and which generates commissions for the broker. Of course there is nothing inherently wrong with a stock broker buying and selling…it’s when the stock broker goes too far, and does these transactions in order to get larger commissions that professional malpractice or negligence can happen.

Insurance brokers can commit negligence when they fail to obtain the correct type of insurance. Do you need insurance for your workers? Do you need unemployment insurance, liability insurance, errors and omissions insurance, comprehensive insurance? Do you need all of this? Are you paying for too much insurance? These are professional negligence questions.

In general, professional negligence occurs when a professional fails to perform his duties according to the standard level of care resulting in harm to another individual. Essentially, this means that the client could have received a more positive result to his/her case, or transaction, or situation had the professional provided service with his full skill potential and good professional practice.

Professionals are held to the standard of service to which they must provide their clients with good professional advice, representation and work. This standard is based upon what other professionals are doing, in their same field and also their same area (geographically). All professionals in New York are held to the same standard of performance.

We have handled many types of professional negligence cases for clients. Whether it is an accountant, a CPA, a real estate broker, a stock broker, an architect, an insurance broker, we can help. After you have determined that there is a problem, the Law Office of Andrew Lavoott Bluestone will provide a free consultation to discuss your problems, determine who may be at fault, examine the evidence you have, assess the value of your case, and advise you how to proceed. There may be arbitration opportunities, litigation or negotiation with the appropriate and negligent parties.

If you need help in your Professional Malpractice case, we can help. Please call attorney Andrew Bluestone at 212.791.5600 or contact him online.

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