251-217-9733
Professional Liability Defense
Two problems arrive at once: the claim, and the license. They are not the same fight.
What Professional Liability Covers
Professional liability is the defense of licensed and certified professionals against allegations that their services fell below the applicable standard of care and caused harm (the claim most people call malpractice).
It differs from ordinary negligence in an important way. The standard is not what a reasonable person would do; it is what a reasonable practitioner in that field would do, which almost always means the case is decided by expert testimony about professional practice rather than by common sense.
And a claim rarely arrives alone. A complaint to a licensing or regulatory board frequently accompanies or precedes the lawsuit, and the two proceed on separate tracks with different rules, different standards, and very different consequences.
Who We Defend
Physicians and surgeons
Medical negligence claims and hospital-related allegations.
Nurses and allied health
Including scope-of-practice questions that overlap with board exposure.
Hospitals and healthcare providers
Institutional claims including nursing home negligence.
Attorneys
Legal malpractice claims and bar complaints.
Accountants and CPAs
Professional negligence and standards-based claims.
Other licensed professionals
Engineers, surveyors, insurance and real estate professionals, and other certified practitioners.
Licensing board proceedings
Investigations, responses, hearings, and appeals before regulatory boards.
Insurers and carriers
Defending insured professionals and coordinating on coverage and strategy.
Sound familiar?
How We Defend These
Run both tracks deliberately
A statement made in a board response can be used in the civil claim. Handling the two proceedings separately without coordinating them is one of the most common and most costly mistakes.
Get the right expert early
These cases are decided on standard of care, which means they are decided by experts. Identifying the right one early shapes the whole defense rather than reacting to the plaintiff's choice.
Protect the practice, not only the case
A professional's livelihood, reputation, credentialing, and insurability are all in play. The best legal outcome is not always the best overall outcome, and we will say so.
Who Does This Work
William R. Lancaster
Four decades defending civil damage claims including medical and hospital negligence and nursing home negligence, with more than a hundred cases tried to judgment.
Jordan W Gerheim
Professional liability defense alongside insurance, product liability, and wrongful death practice.
A Board Complaint Is Not a Lawsuit
They frequently arrive together. They are entirely different proceedings, and the one that threatens your license is not the one with a court file number.
Someone is seeking money
A regulator is examining your license
Your insurer usually appoints and pays for counsel
Coverage for board representation varies (check the policy, do not assume)
Civil rules of evidence and procedure
The board's own rules, which are often less formal and less protective
Resolved by settlement or verdict
Resolved by dismissal, agreement, or discipline that may be public and permanent
Worst case is a judgment, usually insured
Worst case is that you cannot practice
How These Matters Are Billed
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Frequently Asked Questions
I received a letter from my licensing board. Should I just explain what happened?
Not without counsel. A board letter often looks like an invitation to clear things up quickly, and a candid, unadvised response feels like the responsible thing to do. But that response becomes a formal statement of your position, it can be used in any related civil claim, and it is very difficult to revise. Take the deadline seriously and get advice before writing anything.
Does my malpractice insurance cover a board complaint?
Sometimes, and often only partially or subject to a sublimit. Regulatory and licensing representation is treated differently from civil defense in many policies. Check the policy or have us check it. This is a common and unwelcome surprise, and it is better discovered before you engage counsel than after.
How is the standard of care decided?
By expert testimony about what a reasonable practitioner in the same field and circumstances would have done. That is why these cases are, in practice, contests between experts, and why identifying the right expert early matters more than almost anything else in the defense.
Will this become public?
A civil claim generally becomes a public court record. Board outcomes vary (some resolutions are confidential, others are published and appear on license verification systems permanently, which affects credentialing and insurability well beyond the case). That difference is one reason the board track deserves at least as much attention as the lawsuit.
Should I apologize or explain to the patient or client?
Talk to counsel first. The instinct is understandable and sometimes the right thing to do, but how and when it happens matters, and an unadvised communication in the middle of a developing claim frequently makes the situation harder rather than easier to resolve.
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Before You Respond to Either One
Book a Risk-Free Strategy Session, or call 251-217-9733 if the deadline is close. Send us the letter and we will read it before we speak.