Professional Negligence

The term “professional” has varied interpretations, and there is no universally agreed-upon definition. However, in the context of professional negligence claims, it signifies more than just someone who is proficient in their job or a particular task. It refers to an individual or entity that possesses a degree of “special learning” or specialized knowledge in their field. This knowledge typically arises from advanced training, education, or considerable experience, often validated through certifications or licensing by professional bodies.

Furthermore, the term “professional” generally involves an aspect of intellectual skill, as opposed to mere manual labour or mental work. This means that a professional’s role should involve problem-solving, critical thinking, or specialized cognitive abilities rather than simply producing or selling commodities. For instance, a professional could be a doctor who diagnoses and treats illnesses, a lawyer who interprets and applies legal rules, or an engineer who designs and oversees complex projects.

Moreover, the service rendered by a professional typically comes from a vocation, calling, occupation, or employment that requires the application of this intellectual skill and specialized knowledge. These services are predominantly intellectual and are often subject to higher standards of conduct and ethics because of the level of trust clients place in professionals.

To clarify, while a professional is often seen as someone with a white-collar job, it’s important to note that the definition is not exclusive to these jobs. It includes any role that requires advanced learning, applies intellectual skills, and involves a higher level of trust. Hence, someone could be considered a professional in the context of professional negligence claims even if they do not fit into a traditional white-collar role, so long as they meet the criteria discussed above.

These definitions are not set in stone and can vary depending on the jurisdiction, specific laws, and even the circumstances of the case. It’s crucial to consult with a legal professional to understand how these definitions may apply in a particular situation.

Doctors are held to a standard of care akin to that of lawyers — they are required to act like a reasonably prudent professional in their field. Historically, their duty was purely contractual, but it has now evolved to include tort liability as well. Importantly, while physicians have a duty to treat their patients diligently, they don’t offer any implicit guarantee of successful outcomes and cannot be viewed as insurers. The key premise is that they should undertake an “honest and intelligent exercise of judgement” informed by their training and professional knowledge. It is understood that doctors can make mistakes; however, if a mistake stems from negligence and fails to meet the “accepted standards of the day,” the physician could face civil liability.

Consider the role of specialists in the medical field. These practitioners, due to their additional training and professed superior skills, are held to a higher standard of care than general practitioners. Their obligation is to exercise the level of skill expected of an average specialist in their respective field. However, like all doctors, specialists are not expected to achieve perfection. If a treatment or operation doesn’t result in the desired outcome but aligns with accepted medical practice for that specialty, the specialist may not be held liable. On the flip side, specialists can be held liable for overt errors, like administering excessively high treatment doses or failing to act judiciously.

While specialists are held to an elevated standard of care, the same is not eased for novices or interns in the field. Even though they may lack experience, these practitioners are expected to meet the standard of a reasonably prudent medical practitioner. The legal system emphasizes that the expected degree of skill does not fluctuate based on a doctor’s experience. Therefore, if an intern misrepresents themselves as a fully qualified doctor, they must meet the standard of care required of a fully qualified doctor.

Another key aspect of professional negligence in the medical field involves seeking a specialist’s advice. A general practitioner must recognize their limitations and should involve a specialist when deemed necessary by a reasonably prudent physician. If a general practitioner fails to involve a specialist when it would be advisable to do so, they could be held liable for negligence.

Furthermore, doctors often rely on other medical personnel, such as nurses and hospital staff, in treating their patients. While they can usually rely on these individuals to act reasonably, the doctor cannot blindly delegate responsibilities. If a patient suffers due to the negligence of the medical staff, the doctor may or may not be held liable, depending on the circumstances and the extent of the doctor’s involvement.

The process of establishing negligence is complex. The burden of proof falls on the patient, who must demonstrate that the doctor’s conduct was substandard and amounted to negligence. Proving this can be challenging as doctors usually have more information about what transpired and are generally respected members of society. However, liability can be established for mistakes such as misdiagnosis, improper suturing, misuse of medical equipment, wrong organ removal, and other negligent practices.

Finally, it’s essential to distinguish negligence from a mere error of judgment. A doctor is not automatically liable for every mistake; the error must result from a lack of reasonable care or competence. If the doctor made an honest and intelligent decision that later turned out to be incorrect, but a reasonable professional in the same situation could have made the same decision, it may be considered a simple error of judgment and not negligence.

In summary, the question of a doctor’s liability for negligence is multifaceted, involving an assessment of the standard of care, their professional role, the involvement of other personnel, and the nature of their errors. It involves a complex balance between the expectations of patients and the realities of medical practice, with the law aiming to ensure fairness for both parties.

A lawyer can be found liable for negligence based on several factors.

Primarily, a lawyer is expected to perform duties with the competence of an “ordinary prudent solicitor.” This means the lawyer must exercise a reasonable amount of knowledge, skill, and care in executing client-related tasks. If a lawyer’s ignorance or error is such that a competent solicitor wouldn’t have made it, the lawyer may be held liable for negligence. While it’s not necessary for a lawyer to know every law related to their client’s issues, they must possess sufficient knowledge of the fundamental principles applicable to the case.

Negligence liability was traditionally founded on contract, but it has evolved to include tort liability. Thus, a lawyer may now be liable either in contract or in tort to their client. In some circumstances, third parties, who may not be clients, can also sue lawyers for negligence. This shift has meant that it’s possible to launch a concurrent claim in contract and tort. The plaintiff can choose to claim in either contract or tort, based on whichever would be more favourable under the statute of limitations.

However, a lawyer’s duty is not absolute. It’s confined to providing careful, non-negligent advice on matters of law. It doesn’t constitute a form of insurance against loss. For instance, if a lawyer provides an opinion on a legal question and later proven incorrect, this doesn’t automatically equate to negligence. The standard of care for lawyers is intentionally set not to be too burdensome to avoid a surfeit of crippling lawsuits against the profession.

There are also different standards for general practitioners and specialists. A specialist, given their extra training and knowledge, may be held to a “reasonably competent specialist standard,” and this distinction is now recognized in the Canadian legal profession. However, this doesn’t mean less is expected from inexperienced beginners. They’re held to the same standard as a reasonable solicitor from the first day of their practice.

A solicitor’s conduct is typically assessed against the customary practices of solicitors in the same or similar communities. The extent of a solicitor’s duty is determined by the work undertaken, rather than by their circumstances. Thus, a lawyer’s negligence or non-negligence is a question of degree, and there’s often a borderland between these two states.

It’s crucial to remember that for a lawyer to be held liable for negligence, their negligence must cause some loss. This liability can arise in cases where a solicitor fails to take a routine step or neglects to provide essential information or advice, abuses a confidential fiduciary relationship, or makes negligent referrals.

However, not every error or mistake leads to liability. If an error is made on a complex legal issue or if the error did not cause any harm or loss, no liability is usually imposed. Also, if the lawyer follows the ordinary practices of the profession, they’re largely protected from negligence claims.

The complete immunity from tort liability for lawyers in litigation, once upheld in England, has been rejected in Canadian law. A negligence suit can be brought against a lawyer for the conduct of a civil case in court. Public policy in Canada doesn’t recognize exclusive immunity for lawyers engaged in court work from actions for negligence by their former clients.

In summary, a lawyer can be found liable for negligence if they fail to meet the standard of an “ordinary prudent solicitor,” if their negligence results in some loss, and if they breach their duty to act competently, prudently, and diligently. Liability can also arise if a lawyer abuses a confidential fiduciary relationship or makes negligent referrals. However, not all errors or omissions result in liability, especially if they’re on complex legal issues, or if they do not cause harm or loss.

In the context of professional negligence, the issue of whether an employer can be held liable for the negligent actions of their professional employee falls under the legal principle known as vicarious liability. Vicarious liability is a form of a strict, secondary liability that arises under the common law doctrine of agency, specifically under the respondeat superior (let the superior answer) doctrine. Essentially, under this doctrine, an employer can be held liable for the negligent actions or omissions of its employee, when such actions occur in the course of their employment.

Vicarious liability stems from master-servant law but has been extended and modified to apply to a variety of employment and quasi-employment relationships. The exact boundaries of vicarious liability are not entirely fixed, and it can potentially extend to non-employment relationships like principal/agent relationships, the relationship between law firms and lawyers, between an apartment building owner and a non-employee building manager, among others. The general rule, however, is that for vicarious liability to be established, the tortfeasor must be acting on behalf of the organization or employer.

The justification for applying vicarious liability in an employment context was succinctly summarized by Chief Justice McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada in B. (K.L.) v. British Columbia, who explained that when an employer creates a risk and that risk materializes and causes injury, it is fair that the organization that creates the risk should bear the loss. This is because employers are often in a position to reduce accidents and intentional wrongs through efficient organization and supervision.

However, it is important to note that this vicarious liability does not typically extend to independent contractors. Independent contractors are generally considered to be operating their own business, and thus the employer or hiring party does not have the same degree of control over them as they would over an employee. Therefore, the organization hiring the contractor is not typically held liable for the contractor’s actions. The primary factors in assessing the nature of the relationship include the level of control, whether the worker provides their own equipment, hires their own helpers, the degree of financial risk taken by the worker, their degree of responsibility for investment and management, and the worker’s opportunity for profit.

That being said, a contractor’s independence does not completely preclude the possibility of vicarious liability. Workers can have considerable independence and still act on behalf of their employer. Many skilled professionals perform specialized work that is far beyond the abilities of their employers to supervise, and yet they may reasonably be perceived as acting on behalf of these employers.

Furthermore, an employer can also be vicariously liable where the tortfeasor is the employer’s agent and where the agent is acting within the scope of their actual or apparent authority. This can even include the relationship between a corporation and its director or directing mind.

Finally, it’s important to understand that even if an employee is transferred or loaned to another employer, or if a job is delegated to an independent contractor, the original employer may not be able to escape vicarious liability. Similarly, in a mixed employment setting where some persons are employees and some are independent contractors, the employer will be vicariously liable with respect to the damages apportioned to the employee only. Also, the non-profit status of an employer will not alter the policy basis for the operation of vicarious liability.

It is possible for two employers to be jointly vicariously liable for the tortious acts of an employee if they both exerted sufficient control over that employee. Additionally, some duties are “non-delegable” and, if so, the original employer cannot avoid vicarious liability by delegating the responsibility to an independent contractor.

In conclusion, an employer can indeed be held liable for the negligent actions of a professional employee under the principle of vicarious liability. However, whether or not vicarious liability applies to any given case depends on the nature of the relationship between the employer and the employee, the degree of control the employer has over the employee’s actions, and whether the negligent act was committed within the scope of the employee’s duties.