Professional Negligence – The Basics

The act of neglecting clients by professionals such as doctors, advocated, accountants, and architects is known as professional negligance. Whether this neglect has stemed out of a mindful and intended motive is irrelevant when it comes to the establishment of this act.

It is quite imperative that caution is employed by these professionals, as neglect could prove to be detrimental for their careers. Clients as well as employees have the right to take legal action in case they are dissatisfied. However, such an action is mostly common with clients as opposed to employees. Though this does not mean that employees should be neglected. It is strongly advisable to prevent employees from taking this extreme measure, as this may pessimistically affect other employees as well. Therefore, the points given below should be kept in mind.

The professionals may find it cumbersome to defend such law suits. The employees or clients who sue are often prejudiced rather than objective. This is the rule rather than the exception. One must try to find witnesses to testify in favour of the case of an individual. It could be a colleague who knows one well, or an established authority in the field. If such people could testify that the charges of professional negligence are baseless, it could give significant weight to the case. Although one must be thoroughly prepared for witnesses who are testifying against the case.

There are steps that one can take to rule out such horrid ends. Foremost of all, the quality of work of an individual should be of such a high standard that it entirely leaves out any chances of employees, colleagues, or clients being dissatisfied, or left feeling neglected. Concern towards them will allow the professional to live in a relaxed manner with peace of mind.

The second point that the professional must know is that unless there is respect in his heart for his clients and employees, he will not be able to satisfy their needs entirely. Respect allows one to know about the requirements and wants of others, and this knowledge can give one the power to attend to them. For example, if the professional is a doctor, he should be able to know the questions whose answers his patient is looking for. Furthermore, he must exercise patience when answering to encourage the patient to satisfy all his queries.

In addition to what has been mentioned until now, it must be noted that times will come when it will become essential to give a personal opinion in matters. All the relevant consequences will have to be considered before final decisions are made. For instance, take a case where the client wants to have a basement under a particular staircase, and this is not possible as the flooring under the staircase is not sufficiently strong for this. In such a situation, it would be prudent for the professional to inform the client of this, instead of blindly following what the client wants.

It also pays to be meticulously organised. Keeping everything in proper order will have the right influence on the clients. Exceptionally detailed and accurate records must be kept, so that one can refer back to them whenever one needs to.

Last but not the least, one should always be aware of their actions. Clients and employees alike have their rights. This is not being said to scare professionals, definitely not, but keeping it in mind will help one get through life, without seeing a court room.