mishandling

This term carries a strong connotation of negligence or incompetence, often implying a failure to meet a professional or ethical standard. It is frequently used in legal, corporate, or administrative contexts to describe systemic failures in governance or the mismanagement of sensitive information.

In a physical sense, the word describes a lack of care during the transport or manipulation of an object. Because it functions as a gerund, it can be used as an uncountable noun when referring to the general concept of poor management, or as a countable noun when referring to specific instances of improper treatment.