Risk Management & Malpractice Prevention Archives - Page 2 of 4

Be Ready With a Disaster Plan

Be Ready With a Disaster Plan If the last year has taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. Just in Oklahoma, the past several months have been a wild ride when it comes to weather-related phenomena. Ice storms, snowstorms, late-season tornadoes – we’ve seen it all over the last six months. Plus, our regular tornado season and our roller-coaster spring weather is just around the corner. Disasters aren’t limited to weather-related events, however. Fires, plumbing floods, even burglaries can happen at...

What to Consider When Your Client May Have a Diminished Capacity

What to Consider When Your Client May Have a Diminished Capacity When OAMIC receives a claim involving an estate, whether that is a trust document or a will, the issue often is was the client competent at the time the estate document was executed? The lawyer should be careful to fulfill continuing commitments to the client both to represent their interest and, in some situations, to seek additional help for the client. Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct, 5 O.S. 2021, Ch. 1, App....

Claims and Errors Trends: What You Should Know

Claims and Errors Trends: What You Should Know Below is information compiled from OAMIC’s claim data from 2009-2019 regarding common errors and claims. This information was originally prepared as part of the materials for the recent continuing education program Tales From the Trenches, but we've made it available here because everyone in Oklahoma’s legal community can benefit from knowing about claims in our state. Frequency by Practice Area Similar to national trends, claims from 2009-2019 were highest in plaintiff personal injury/property damage work....

Statute of Limitations and the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act

Statute of Limitations and the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act Every year, it seems we have at least one claim that is the failure to provide timely notice under the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act, 51 O.S. §151 et seq. Usually, we see this problem in the context of a claim against a medical provider, such as an ambulance service or even a hospital. By the time plaintiff’s counsel finds out the defendant is considered a political subdivision under the Oklahoma...

PHIL’S CORNER: Impact of COVID-19 on LPL Claims – If Any

PHIL’S CORNER: Impact of COVID-19 on LPL Claims – If Any Phil's Corner is a special column from OAMIC's President & CEO Phil Fraim that is sent in our e-newsletter each month. So far in 2020, claims in our office have been improved both in the number of new matters and the average size of those matters. Is this a false sense of security, the calm before the storm? It is way too early in the game to make predictions on what...

Remote Work: Risk Management in the Remote Work Environment

Remote Work: Risk Management in the Remote Work Environment The novel COVID-19 pandemic has created new working conditions for most of us. How we work and how we interact with each other has drastically changed over the past months. With new territories comes increased risk, some known and other risks are still unknown. Therefore, it is vital that lawyers continue to take precautions to minimize the risks of legal malpractice lawsuits while navigating the remote environment. Most of the claims reported during...

Remote Work: Productivity and Mental Health Tips

Remote Work: Productivity and Mental Health Tips Even as offices reopen, especially as COVID-19 cases continue to fluctuate across the country, many companies have adopted more flexible work from home policies, allowing employees to work outside the office more frequently and sometimes even on a regular schedule. Working from home comes with distractions like children, spouses, pets and access to TV and food, plus it presents challenges like slow Wi-Fi, distracting noises or software issues. This environment, coupled with negative headlines, social...

Tips for Returning to the Office

Tips for Returning to the Office Being back to the office, like from an extended work-from-home period, can be tough. Even those who kept a strict routine while working remotely might find it hard to get back to work in a traditional sense – you may have gotten out of bed, dressed and to your home office by 9, but you likely didn’t have to steam your suit, pack a lunch or compensate for a commute time. For those at firms...

Why an Effective Calendaring System Is Important

Why an Effective Calendaring System Is Important Personal injury/property damage – plaintiff is the area of law with the most frequent legal malpractice lawsuits. Approximately 30% of the cases received in the past decade are personal injury/property damage-plaintiff cases. These cases include but are not limited to, product liability, medical malpractice and accident collisions. The most common types of errors usually result in a missed deadline. These errors include: Failure to know or ascertain deadline correctly, failure to react to calendar, failure...

Collection & Bankruptcy Errors: What You Need To Know

Collection & Bankruptcy Errors: What You Need To Know As consumer debt increases, so does the demand for collection and bankruptcy legal services. According to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) 2020 annual report, “the volume of new debt placed in the litigation channel has increased significantly.” This indicates a growing market for collection and bankruptcy lawyers. It may be tempting for an attorney to increase profitability by handling a large volume of these cases, but this obviously comes with...