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Hospital records are of vital importance to any investigation where the plaintiff received care that
could be involved in the liability, medical treatment, or the factual situation of a case. Other
records that need to be brought under the scrutiny of investigation are

manuals and handbooks regarding nursing procedures and regulations


operating procedures
any standing orders of attending doctors
personnel records including the identity of all personnel involved in the incident
all equipment involved
any photographs or diagrams

Courts routinely require expert testimony to establish the standard of care in malpractice claims
against physicians, lawyers, dentists, accountants, and architects. Their line of reasoning is that
there are few lay people who understand professional standards of care concerning the issue of
negligence. Therefore the benefit of expert testimony is extremely important. For this same
reason, courts are beginning to require expert testimony where an insurance agents negligence
is required to be shown.

Errors and Omissions (E & O) Claims


Errors and omissions insurance is a basic safeguard for a business. This insurance protects
technology businesses against potentially catastrophic litigation involving professional
negligence or charges of failing to perform professional duties. Errors and omissions coverage
can make the difference between the survival and failure of a business when faced with these
types of legal threats.

Errors and omissions insurance protects technology companies if they are faced with the two
most common forms of liability risks:

Claims for "malpractice" in which companies are sued for failing to maintain accepted
standards of care as a technology professional or company
Breach of contract claims for failing to perform contracted services in a timely manner and
within the contractual terms

Either one of these types of errors and omissions allegations can tie up company funds,
personnel, and attention for years. E & O insurance is especially necessary in the new
technology age where the law is still being formed. In many cases, courts are defining what a
computer professional is and what the expectations are for services and contracts. The laws
around computer consulting and contracting are too new to have established legal precedents.
With no precedents, the legal waters are murky and dangerous for the company or consultant
without E & O coverage.

Changing Tort Law


Tort law is established law covering contracts. It has had time to establish contractual
expectations for most types of professionals and professional activities, but the cyber-service
world is too new to be clearly addressed by existing law. This means that much of the tort law is
still to be formed through court cases and judgments. What may not be actionable today could
result in huge court awards next year. The upshot is that no one can protect against what may
be decided in court cases in the near future, except with E & O insurance.

Massive software giants, multinational hardware producers, and individuals writing programs or
servicing computers out of their homes are all equally at risk for E & O liability suits. Whether it
is catastrophic software crash or network failure that ties up services for expensive hours, the

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