Professional Malpractice as a Cause of Action in New York

When someone seeks help from a professional, they trust that person to meet the standards of their field. But when a professional fails to meet those standards and causes harm, the injured person may have a valid claim for professional malpractice. In New York, proving this kind of claim requires more than just showing that something went wrong. The law sets out specific elements that must be proven in court for a case of professional malpractice to succeed.

Departure from Accepted Standards of Practice

The first requirement is showing that the professional did not meet the accepted standards of their profession. Every licensed field, such as medicine, law, architecture, or engineering, has general community standards that professionals are expected to follow. This means a plaintiff must provide evidence that the defendant acted in a way that a reasonably skilled and competent professional in the same field would not have.

To prove this, the plaintiff usually needs to present expert testimony. For example, in a medical malpractice case, another doctor would explain how the defendant’s actions differed from what is normally expected in similar situations. Without such testimony, it is very difficult to establish that there was a true departure from the professional standard.

Proximate Cause

The second requirement is proving that the professional’s failure to meet those standards directly caused the injury. This is called proximate cause. It means that the harm suffered must be closely connected to the professional’s mistake, not just something that happened around the same time.

A plaintiff must show that the injuries would not have occurred if the professional had done their job correctly. For instance, if a patient suffers complications after a surgery, but those complications would have happened even with proper care, then the professional’s actions may not be the legal cause of the harm. The law does not hold professionals responsible for every bad outcome, only for those that result from their mistakes.

Conclusion

Professional malpractice in New York is more than just a mistake or bad outcome. It requires proof that a professional acted outside the standards of their field and that this departure directly caused harm. These cases are often complex and depend heavily on expert analysis and testimony. Whether you are a potential plaintiff or a professional facing a claim, understanding these elements is key to assessing the strength of a malpractice case.

Find the Law

“In order to establish liability for professional malpractice, a plaintiff must prove that the defendants deviated or departed from accepted community standards of practice and that such departure was a proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries.” Archer v Haeri, 91 AD3d 685, 685 (2d Dept 2012).” Benson v. U.S. Athletic Training Ctr., Inc., 2013 N.Y. Slip Op. 32719, 5 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2013)