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Professional negligence
Our professional negligence solicitors are experts in their field.
The definition of professional negligence is “a subset of the general rules on negligence to cover the situation in which the defendant has represented him or herself as having more than average skills and abilities".
In basic terms professional negligence is where a professional person (this could be a financial adviser, valuer, surveyor, accountant or solicitor) fails to perform to the standards required of them, resulting in their client suffering damage or loss.
A professional person has a duty of care to their client to perform their job to a reasonable standard and with reasonable care.
Our expertise
In recent years the number of claims against accountants, surveyors, financial advisors and solicitors has increased dramatically.
This increase in claims is due to many factors. We now rely more on the opinion of professionals, some of this work can be extremely complex and individuals and businesses are now more aware of their legal rights and exercise them accordingly.
We understand how to achieve the best outcome in what can be difficult and sensitive situations and how to apply the pre-action protocol effectively.
We can help you to assess the prospects of your claim and, in appropriate cases where we assess the prospects to be sufficient, help you to find suitable funding to pursue your claim and manage the financial risk of bringing court proceedings.
Professional negligence pre-action protocol
In July 2001 the Pre-Action Protocol came into force, it should be used in all professional negligence cases where there is no other specific protocol that applies. The Pre-Action Protocol encourages all parties to consider using alternative methods of disputes resolution by sharing information at an early stage rather than going through full court proceedings. The protocol sets out standards which need to be followed before court proceedings are started.
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Common mistakes by professionals
Funding your claim
We can help you to assess the prospects of your claim and, in appropriate cases where we assess the prospects to be sufficient, help you to find suitable funding to pursue your claim and manage the financial risk of bringing court proceedings.
If the prospects of a claim are strong enough, we can work with you to seek to find a suitable funding arrangement to assist you in managing the costs of litigation. Our litigation finance and insurance solution FISCUS provides further information on the various funding options that may be available to you.
Professional negligence FAQs
- What is professional negligence?
- What is the difference between negligence and professional negligence?
- What are the elements of professional negligence?
- How do I know if the professional owed me a duty of care?
- What constitutes a breach of duty?
- Did the breach cause the loss I am complaining of?
- How do you prove professional negligence?
- Can I sue my solicitor for negligence?
- Are there any other options available to me besides a claim for professional negligence?
- What are the time limits for bringing a professional negligence claim?
Our cases
- Matter: Recovered significant damages against a valuer for negligent undervaluation of a property in a matrimonial proceedings.
- Matter: Significant settlement from a firm of solicitors for negligent drafting of an overage agreement when development property was purchased.
- Matter: Successful settlement of a claim against financial advisers for negligent advice to invest in unregulated collective investment scheme.
- Matter: Mediated between four parties to resolve a claim successfully in our client's favour where a solicitor had negligently failed to advise that the property being purchased had no planning permission.
- Matter: The firm of solicitors failed to make sufficient enquiries about a restrictive covenant. The restrictive covenant limited the marketability of the property which ultimately meant that it was not sufficient security for our client. The case was settled in our client’s favour without the need for proceedings to be issued.
- Matters: Recovered 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.