Employee negligence can cause harm to customers and employers, leading to lawsuits. The expected duty of care varies by industry, and employee handbooks provide guidelines. Malpractice lawsuits can be challenging to prosecute due to gray areas, and both consumers and employers can sue for damages.
Employee negligence is a failure to provide an expected duty of care to customers and employers that causes harm. For example, a property manager is responsible for responding to tenant complaints about health and safety situations. If a tenant reports bad wiring and the property manager fails to act, he would be liable for damages if the wiring caused a fire. Employers can sue for employee malpractice, just as customers can be harmed by the employee’s actions.
The duty of care expected of an employee varies by industry. In some industries, employees are considered highly skilled professionals and their level of responsibility is much higher. The threshold of evidence in employee malpractice cases of this nature may be lower. Doctors and nurses, for example, have professional training that leads patients to trust them and must behave with caution. Likewise, every employee with a fiduciary duty has a high duty of care, as clients place funds and financial information in the hands of these employees. Conversely, a salesperson has less responsibility.
In employee malpractice cases, it must be established that the employee’s duty of care was clearly established and that he or she violated it by acting negligently. In such cases there can be gray areas which sometimes make them difficult to prosecute. For example, an employee who accidentally sends information to the wrong address might not necessarily be acting negligently, but if the information shouldn’t have been sent in the first place, the employee is in breach of his or her duty of care and is liable for damages if that information gets into wrong hands.
Employee handbooks typically provide detailed information on duties and responsibilities. In the case of healthcare professionals, lawyers, and fiduciary parties such as accountants and cashiers, the handbook may also include guidelines from a professional organization to remind the employee of industry standards. Employees who are unclear about their responsibilities should ask, as they may be held liable for negligence for not fully understanding their responsibilities.
When malpractice lawsuits arise, consumers can sue an employer for breach of duty, and the employer can potentially challenge the employee’s negligence, placing blame on the staff member who caused the problem. Employers can also sue their employees individually for causing harm to the company, such as financial loss or a decline in the company’s reputation. Employees defending malpractice cases may attempt to demonstrate that the alleged duty of care goes beyond reasonable expectations or may argue that they have not been adequately trained, placing the liability on their employers.
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