American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys (ABPLA)

To become a specialist certified by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys (ABPLA) the attorney is required to meet the following minimum standards, the attorney must:

• Be an active member of at least one state bar association in the United States and must be a member in good standing of that organization;

• Have extensive experience in the area of professional malpractice, demonstrated by showing that a certain percentage of the attorney's practice is devoted to this unique area of the law;

• Show he or she has participated in a certain number of trials, mediations, arbitrations, and pre-trial discovery in cases specifically devoted to professional liability;

• Meet certain minimum standards for continuing legal education (CLE) seminars devoted to professional liability, malpractice or negligence litigation;

• Pass a written examination designed to test the attorney's knowledge in the field of professional liability law; and

• Provide the names of other attorneys who act as references by attesting to the attorney's competence in his practice area.

"Legal liability law" involves when an attorney or law firm causes a client damages after negligently providing legal services or failing to provide legal services. To be considered legal malpractice, the negligent services must fall below accepted standards required under the circumstances in the legal community.

Like medical malpractice, legal malpractice falls within the broader category of professional negligence. Attorneys often obtain legal liability insurance to offset the risk that might occur if a lawsuit if filed on a claim of legal malpractice.

Related terms include "legal liability law" or "legal professional negligence law." A certified legal malpractice lawyer typically represents clients suing their former counsel.

The definition of the term "medical malpractice" is when a health care provider such as a doctor, nurse, or hospital, causes a patient to suffer an injury or death by negligently providing treatment or failing to provide treatment.

To be considered medical malpractice, the negligent care must fall below-accepted standards of care required under the circumstances in the medical community.

Like legal malpractice, medical malpractice falls within the broader category of professional negligence. In most cases, medical professionals obtain medical liability insurance to offset the risk that might occur if a lawsuit is filed on a claim of professional malpractice. Attorneys who have earned a specialty certification in medical malpractice typically represent patients.

Recent statistics on medical malpractice show that tens of thousands of patients in the United States die each year as a result of medical errors. Medical malpractice law is also called "medical liability law" or "medical negligence law."

Medical malpractice cases are often complex and expensive requiring expert witness testimony. In many states, a claim for medical malpractice must be filed within a specific time period often called the statute of limitations. Certain states have "caps" on damages in medical malpractice cases.