Professional Malpractice Investigations

Professions outside the medical profession which are subject to lawsuits based on claims of malpractice include lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers and real estate brokers. You may require the assistance of a private detective to gather evidence on your behalf if you believe you have been the victim of wrongdoing by one of these professionals. Building a malpractice case against anyone is tricky business, but it is especially difficult when dealing with professionals who know how to cover their errors, making them nearly impossible to detect.

Legal malpractice occurs when an attorney-client relationship exists, the lawyer breaches the duty they owe to the client, and the lawyer's wrongdoing harms the client. Examples of legal malpractice might include letting the statute of limitations expire or otherwise missing an important deadline on your case, causing you tax consequences from failing to take appropriate action, or making any mistake that costs you money. Misappropriation of funds, and failure to conduct proper pretrial discovery are also grounds for a malpractice claim.

Types of lawsuits may be brought against accountants include breach of contract, negligence, fraud, and violation of securities laws. Professional accountants have a duty to exercise the level of care, skill, and diligence normally performed by other members of the profession under similar circumstances. For example, to prove negligence, one must show that there was a misrepresentation of a material fact to a party to whom an accountant owes a duty. Cause in fact and foreseeability are the two types of errors that constitute accountant malpractice.

Architects and engineers who construct flawed designs that result in loss or injury to others may be guilty of malpractice. If errors, omissions, and negligence are the cause of building collapse, equipment malfunction, unsafe emissions, or a myriad of other safety risks, architects and engineers can be held accountable

Real estate brokers who knowingly misrepresent a defective property, or who make errors and/or omissions that cause the buyer of a property to incur loss or injury have perpetrated malpractice. Brokers who conceal inflated property appraisals, or safety concerns regarding the properties they represent can be court ordered to pay punitive or compensatory damages to the wronged buyer.

If you believe you have been the victim of malpractice by any of these professionals, you will need evidence of wrongdoing to force an equitable out of court settlement, or to prevail in a civil lawsuit. A private investigator will interview all parties to the transaction, review all documents and contracts, delve into the background and history of the professional at fault, and uncover any tampering done to conceal the malpractice. Let an experienced investigator help you build your case so that you can recover monetary compensation due you as a result of the injustice you incurred.