What is malfeasance wrongdoing?

Asked by: Daren Fisher  |  Last update: May 17, 2025
Score: 4.1/5 (55 votes)

Malfeasance refers to intentional wrongdoing that causes harm to others.

What are examples of malfeasance?

Examples of malfeasance include:
  • A doctor intentionally giving the wrong medication to a patient, causing harm or death.
  • A police officer using excessive force during an arrest, causing injury to the suspect.
  • A corporate executive embezzling money from the company for personal gain.

What is considered malfeasance?

Malfeasance is an act that is illegal and causes physical or monetary harm to someone else. Malfeasance is intentional conduct that is wrongful or unlawful , especially by officials or public employees.

What's the difference between malfeasance and negligence?

Some distinguish recklessness from negligence; recklessness is a 'malfeasance' that increases the danger of an act occurring; whereas criminal negligence is a 'misfeasance or 'nonfeasance,'merely allowing otherwise avoidable dangers to manifest.

What is another word for malfeasance?

Synonyms: wrongdoing, misbehavior, mischief , misconduct, transgression.

🔵 Malfeasance Meaning Misfeasance Defined Nonfeasance Examples - Malfeasance Misfeasance Nonfeasance

42 related questions found

What is a word for unfair acts?

arbitrary biased cruel discriminatory dishonest illegal immoral improper inequitable inexcusable one-sided partisan shameful unethical unjust unjustifiable unlawful unreasonable unwarranted wrong.

Which is worse misfeasance or malfeasance?

Intentional Wrongdoing and Criminal Law

Unlike misfeasance, which refers to negligent conduct, malfeasance requires a deliberate intent to cause harm or break the law. As such, acts of malfeasance can intersect with criminal law when they involve criminal intent and serious breaches of legal or fiduciary duty.

Can you sue for malfeasance?

Malfeasance is an act of outright sabotage in which one party to a contract commits an act that causes intentional damage. A party that incurs damages by malfeasance is entitled to settlement through a civil lawsuit. Proving malfeasance in a court of law is often difficult, as the true definition is rarely agreed upon.

What is a malfeasant behavior?

Definitions of malfeasance. noun. wrongful conduct by a public official. actus reus, misconduct, wrongdoing, wrongful conduct. activity that transgresses moral or civil law.

How to prove malfeasance?

In order to prove malfeasance, a prosecutor must show that the public official or employee acted with the intent to do something unlawful. In many cases, circumstantial evidence or witness testimony is used to establish intent.

Can you go to jail for malfeasance?

In practice, the distinction is confusing, and courts often have difficulty determining whether harm resulted from a failure to act or from an act that was improperly performed. Participating in misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance could potentially end with a fine and possible jail time.

What is ethical malfeasance?

Malfeasance and maleficence significantly shape the ethical landscape of clinical trials and drug development. Malfeasance refers to intentional wrongdoing, such as data fabrication or manipulation, while maleficence involves causing harm, whether intentionally or not.

What is considered a legal wrong?

A legal wrong is when someone breaks the law or violates someone else's legal rights. It can be a civil wrong, like breaking a contract, or a public wrong, like committing a crime. Intentional wrongs are done on purpose, while negligence is when someone is careless.

What is malfeasance by an attorney?

Failure to Perform or Do Something Competently (Malfeasance) An attorney may be equally liable for malpractice if he or she performs the actions required by law, but does so in an incompetent or substandard manner.

Which of the following best describes malfeasance?

Malfeasance refers specifically to any intentional act that violates ethics or policies, often resulting in harm or wrongdoing. Therefore, the best definition among the provided options is: C. Any intentional act that violates ethics or policy.

What is the liability for misfeasance?

Liability for Misfeasance:

If an auditor does something wrongfully in the performance of his duties resulting in a financial loss to the company, he is guilty of misfeasance. In such a case, the company can recover damages from the auditor or from any officer for breach of trust or misfeasance of the company.

What is a real life example of malfeasance?

What is an example of malfeasance? An example of malfeasance would be a police officer who witnesses an altercation between a cashier and a customer but intentionally ignores the situation. As a result of the officer's decision, a robbery and murder occur.

What is a malicious attitude?

Malicious is the adjective based on the noun malice, which means the desire to harm others. Both words come from the Latin word malus, for bad. If someone is malicious he doesn't just make bad things happen; he loves to make bad things happen.

What is vengeful behavior?

/ˈvendʒ.fəl/ expressing a strong wish to punish someone who has harmed you or your family or friends: She sprayed red paint all over his car in one last vengeful act before leaving him for good. Synonyms. revengeful.

Can you sue someone for being unfair?

Federal, state, and local laws prohibit unfair treatment of any kind when it is based on certain protected classes such as race, gender, religion, national origin, and many others. If the unfair treatment is based on one of these classes it will likely give rise to a legal claim.

What is a felony malfeasance?

For any business, malfeasance is a wrongful act that causes great harm to its finances and regular operations. There are different forms of this crime, including embezzlement, and each form has a specific penalty in California.

Is sabotaging a company illegal?

It is illegal for a person to sabotage a business and may face civil and criminal liability. The saboteur can be an employee, business partner, or competitor.

What is an example of a malfeasance situation?

In criminal court, malfeasance can apply to cases that cause financial damage or physical injury to another person. For example, medical malpractice is an act of criminal malfeasance. If someone died after poor treatment by a licensed doctor, the doctor can be charged in criminal court for negligent homicide.

What is negligent malfeasance?

Malfeasance can also include the elements of negligence and breach of duty depending on the action. Malfeasance actions can be categorized as criminal and civil. Nonfeasance actions are rarely considered criminal and mostly considered civil.

What is an act of negligence?

Negligence is the failure to behave with the level of care that a reasonable person would have exercised under the same circumstances.