Are there any differences between professional negligence and ordinary negligence?

Yes, there are some differences between professional negligence and ordinary negligence in Pennsylvania. Professional negligence, sometimes called malpractice, occurs when a professional fails to exercise the ordinary care, skill or knowledge commonly utilized by other professionals in the same field. On the other hand, ordinary negligence is the failure to exercise reasonable care to protect another from injury or loss. In addition to ordinary negligence, professional liability law in Pennsylvania may consider other factors like skill, education, experience, custom, and practice of a professional’s peers to determine what the professional’s “standard of care” should have been. This means that a professional can be held to a higher standard than a general person. Professional negligence may also require that an attorney establish a breach of contract or duty, or that a doctor was negligent in providing competent care. Professional negligence does not simply require that a mistake was made. An evaluation is needed to determine if the professional breached their duty or if a breach of contract has occurred. Overall, professional negligence is more complex than ordinary negligence because it requires a thorough evaluation of the professional’s actions and the breach of duty or contract and the consequences of that breach. Further, it requires an evaluation of the professional’s skill, education, experience, custom, and practice of a professional’s peers to determine the “standard of care”. Ultimately, the facts of the case will determine the difference between professional negligence and ordinary negligence.

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Are there any differences between professional negligence and ordinary negligence?

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