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Professional negligence
Individuals and businesses routinely engage professionals - such as solicitors, accountants, financial advisers, surveyors, and others—to provide expert advice and services in critical areas of life and commerce. These professionals owe their clients a duty of care in tort, and are also typically bound by the express and implied terms of a contract for services.
Where a professional fails to perform their services to the standard reasonably expected of a competent practitioner in their field, or breaches the terms of their engagement, and that failure causes financial loss, they may be liable for professional negligence.
Claims for professional negligence often require establishing: a duty of care existed; that duty was breached; and the breach caused quantifiable loss.
If you believe you have suffered loss due to negligent professional advice or conduct, you may have grounds to pursue a claim.
Want to find out if you have a claim?
CLICK HERE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH USWe have a long-established professional negligence practice, with a strong focus on acting for claimants, including both businesses and individuals. Our team has many years of experience advising clients on complex claims across a wide range of professional sectors.
We handle claims against a variety of professionals, and are particularly recognised for our expertise in the following areas:
Claims against solicitors
We act in negligence claims against solicitors arising from:
- Missing court deadlines, including limitation dates, which render claims time-barred;
- Procedural errors with adverse cost or legal consequences;
- Failures in advising during property transactions, including purchases and sales;
- Inadequate drafting or review of business sale agreements;
- Under-settled claims, particularly in personal injury and clinical negligence matters.
Claims for negligent financial or tax advice
We advise clients in claims involving:
- Mis-sold financial products or investments;
- Negligent tax advice, including failed tax schemes and disguised remuneration arrangements;
- Failures to disclose financial risks or legal implications of recommended strategies.
Claims against surveyors
Our team handles claims relating to:
- Negligent property valuations—both under and over-valuations;
- Failure to identify or correctly report on structural defects or other material issues during property inspections.
Claims against insurers and insurance brokers
We represent clients in disputes involving:
- Wrongful refusal to pay out under insurance policies;
- Negligent advice or product recommendations by insurance brokers that result in loss.
Group professional negligence actions
We also represent groups of claimants pursuing professional negligence claims arising from the same cause of action, offering efficient and coordinated legal representation.
Our recent cases
- Bringing a claim against clients’ former solicitors for negligent advice and actions in drafting a share purchase agreement when the clients sold their business.
- Pursuing a claim against former accountants and a scheme promoter for negligently advising our clients to participate in aggressive tax avoidance schemes.
- Representing a group of clients who individually purchased investment properties in an off-build development. Several conveyancers involved in transferring the properties negligently failed to advise on the substantial charge registered against the development, resulting in all clients losing their deposits when the developer went into administration.
- Successfully settling a claim against an insurance broker for failing to provide adequate and appropriate cover when advising a company on which Group Income Protection to obtain.
- Recovering well over six figures for a couple whose solicitors missed the limitation deadline to claim losses from the house builder who sold them a house with defective foundations.
Funding a dispute
There are various ways that litigation may be funded. At relevant times in our management of your dispute we will advise you which funding options may apply and which we would be prepared to offer you.
FAQs
- What are the components of a claim against a professional?
- Did the negligence cause the loss I am complaining of?
- How do you prove professional negligence and/or breach of contract?
- What is the process to of a professional negligence claim?
- What are the time limits for bringing a professional negligence and/or breach of contract claim?