How can I get help after professional negligence has affected me?

While compensation may not be able to help repair the damage done, it can go a long way towards helping you recover from the fallout of the professional negligence you have endured. That is why pursuing a professional negligence claim can be beneficial for you or your business.

What do I need to know about professional negligence claims against solicitors?

Claims against solicitors for professional negligence are complex. If you believe a solicitor has been negligent or you have been involved in a dispute with a solicitor, contact us to discuss what happened. When you instruct a solicitor to pursue a claim for professional negligence against a professional person or firm, the last thing you may expect is that the solicitor would go on to be negligent in conducting the initial professional negligence dispute. The solicitor you trusted to represent you may have made an error and been negligent, resulting in financial harm or loss of chance. The solicitor may be liable to compensate you for those errors and financial losses that may not have occurred but for their negligence in the first instance.

When are professional negligence solicitors negligent?

Missing limitation dates - Limitation is a vital part of any claim. This is the date that you must bring your claim against the defendant and begin court proceedings. The limitation period in professional negligence claims is usually six years. Failing to comply with a court order or deadline - A failure by your solicitor to comply with a court order or deadline applies to all claims that are litigated (issued at court) and are subject to case management court directions. It may also apply to situations where your solicitor has not acted promptly, resulting in your claim being compromised. Failing to identify heads of loss that should have been recovered - When pursuing a claim for professional negligence, the type of loss you could have incurred will depend upon the type of case or transaction that led to the initial claim. Your solicitor should have established what types of loss you could recover. For example, if you originally pursued a claim relating to an accident, you may have incurred financial losses such as loss of earnings, care and assistance costs, rehabilitation treatment charges, future losses, surgery costs, vehicle losses and damage to items. If you believe that your solicitor did not recover the correct items of loss or simply failed to advise you that they could be recovered, you could have a case for a professional negligence claim. Issuing court proceedings against the incorrect defendant - It is commonplace in professional negligence claims that court proceedings are issued. But sometimes things can go wrong, resulting in your claim becoming defective and time-barred. Investigations should be carried out by your solicitor to ensure they issue court proceedings against the correct defendant. Providing incorrect legal advice - Solicitors pride themselves on being highly qualified legal professionals. The general public hire solicitors for many reasons, but the main one is usually that the advice they provide will influence the outcome of a dispute or issue and will almost certainly be reliable. Failing to instruct an appropriate expert - If your solicitor fails to instruct an expert to prove your claim and/or your claim fails due to insufficient expert evidence, your solicitor may be negligent. For example, if a claim is being brought against a surveyor for failure to investigate a property correctly and your solicitor did not obtain a report from an expert surveyor confirming this, your claim is likely to fail due to insufficient evidence. Failing to properly investigate evidence that has had a fundamental impact on the outcome of a claim - Your solicitor may be professionally negligent if they do not gather all the evidence in support of your case, impacting the claim’s chances of being successful. An example of failing to correctly investigate would be not obtaining witness statements that support your version of events and you losing your claim for damages because of this.

Been Let Down?

Professional Negligence Solicitors

Q: What is professional negligence?

If you seek the advice of a professional and they make an error, it can have serious financial consequences for you and could be classed as professional negligence.

Q: How do I make a professional negligence claim?

If you think you have a claim, please contact our specialist professional negligence solicitors. Our initial consultation is free, and during this time, we will aim to ascertain the likelihood of a successful claim. However, to further proceed with any professional negligence claims, we may need to see the solicitor’s file to determine whether they were negligent and get supporting evidence from an independent subject matter expert (e.g. a forensic accountant) confirming there has been a breach of duty.

At some point in our lives, we might need professional help to get by. Unfortunately, that assistance is sometimes not up to the expected standard. If you have received negligent advice or ineffective services from a professional, we can act on your behalf to pursue and efficiently settle your successful professional negligence claim.

What is professional negligence?

Professional negligence is defined as the failure of a professional to carry out their responsibilities to the necessary standards.

By law, professionals, either companies or individuals, must fulfil a duty of care to their clients. They should deliver their service to a high standard and carry out the work in a careful way. If these standards are not met, the client could have grounds to put forward a professional negligence claim if they have suffered as a result.

Do I have grounds to make a professional negligence claim?

To have a valid professional negligence claim, you must be able to prove that you suffered a loss, as a result of inadequate services provided by the professional person or company.

Legal services are covered by the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. This legislation states that every contract contains a term implying that the professional will carry out the service with “reasonable care and skill”. A good standard of work is simply expected, without the need for a clause explicitly describing it. There are in addition, accepted standards within the profession.

Our team of professional negligence lawyers

No matter how it’s experienced, professional negligence can be deeply distressing, especially if you feel that you have nowhere to turn. With the right support, you can seek compensation. As trusted professional negligence solicitors, it is our job to determine if you have a case and, if so, to help you pursue your claim to a successful conclusion.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our approachable, specialist team of professional negligence lawyers for a free, no-obligation assessment of your potential claim.

Professional negligence: FAQs

What should I do if I’m affected by professional negligence?

While compensation may not be able to help repair the damage done, it can go a long way towards helping you recover from the effects of the professional negligence you have endured. Pursuing a professional negligence claim can be beneficial for you or your business, both in the immediate future and the long term.

We understand how difficult it can be to have not received the service you expected. Fortunately, we can help you if you think that you have suffered as a result professional negligence when receiving services from different types of professional body. These include:

Solicitors
Barristers and other legal practitioners
Architects
Surveyors
Engineers and other property professionals
Accountants and other financial advisors, including banks
Insurance brokers

Can I make a professional negligence claim against my solicitor?

Professional negligence claims against solicitors are possible, but complex. If you believe a solicitor has been negligent or you have been involved in a dispute with a solicitor, your first step should be to contact us. Our specialists need to discuss the events in question before any action can be considered.

If you’re thinking of pursuing a negligence claim against a legal professional or firm, it’s imperative to choose the right solicitor to support you. To make a successful claim against a solicitor, you must be able to prove that they breached their duty of care to you and that you consequentially suffered a loss as a result.

The solicitor you trusted to represent you may have made an error and been negligent, resulting in financial harm or loss of chance to pursue a claim. The solicitor could be liable to compensate you for those errors and financial losses that might not have occurred without their negligence.

With specialist advice from the team at Been Let Down, we can support you in making your claim and showing you how to compile correct evidence in the right way.

What are some examples of professional negligence?

Failing to comply with a court order or deadline

A failure by your solicitor to comply with a court order or deadline applies to all litigated claims subject to case management court directions. It may also apply to situations where your claim is compromised as a result of inefficient action by your solicitor.

If your claim has been struck out by the court, preventing you from recovering compensation, you might have grounds to make a solicitor negligence claim. You would therefore be entitled to recover your damages from your former solicitor.

Providing incorrect legal advice

If your legal advisor provided an opinion you relied on and you believe that it resulted in your financial loss, you may be able to make a professional negligence claim for compensation. This can only happen if that advice was given negligently. Sometimes, the solicitor may fail to provide advice rather than providing wrong advice which can result in a loss.

Solicitors sometimes instruct barristers on your behalf. Although you may not have a contract with the barrister, the solicitor may not be able to escape liability if the barrister’s advice is incorrect and the solicitor relies on it. Whatever the situation, the solicitor has a duty of care to you to ensure that their advice is accurate and correct. If this is not the case, you may be able to make a professional negligence claim. This may be in addition to any claim against the barrister.

Failing to properly investigate evidence

Your solicitor may be professionally negligent if they fail to gather all supporting evidence for your case, impacting the claim’s chances of being successful. However, solicitors cannot be proven negligent if an independent witness is untraceable or refuses to cooperate, or if your claim was highly likely to fail.

If you think your professional negligence solicitor has let you down or given advice that caused you financial loss, you may have a claim for compensation. In this case, getting in touch with us as your ‘No Win No Fee‘ solicitors can be the best course of action.

Suggesting unsuitable investment products

Occasionally, financial professional negligence involves being misled on products and services, including pensions. Understanding the client’s financial situation, in addition to any other relevant circumstances, is an integral part of any financial advisor’s duty of care.

In the unfortunate event of the advisor’s failure to consider their client accurately and appropriately before advising or recommending certain investments, there could be grounds to make a financial negligence claim.

Failing to advise correctly

All taxpayers, whether corporate or individual, receive an accelerated payment notice when tax or National Insurance Contributions are due to HMRC. The role of their financial advisor is to prepare these accounts accordingly and provide advice, where possible, on tax reliefs and exemptions.

If a financial advisor fails to fulfil their responsibilities, misses deadlines or ignores specific requests from you and/or your solicitor, it could be time to discuss recent events with professional negligence solicitors.

Giving negligent advice on high-risk investments

Certain types of investments come with considerable risk, which is usually explained by the advisor and acknowledged by the client. In some cases, financial advisors might act negligently by failing to advise their clients comprehensively on the risks of their recommended investments.

Financial advisors might also try to shift their client’s attitude towards products deemed riskier, such as cryptocurrencies. If either situation results in financial loss for the client, they might have a case to put forward with the support of qualified professional negligence solicitors.

Giving ineffective or incorrect advice

If advice given by your accountant directly caused you or your company a financial loss, you might be able to make a professional negligence claim. From any accountant, reliable advice is critical and must meet the expected professional standards.

To make a successful claim against your accountant, you must be able to prove not only the details and extent of the loss but also that the accountant breached their duty of care to you.

Providing incorrect tax information and advice

Unfortunately, errors can also occur when it comes to your accountant’s management of personal or company tax. If your accountant fails to fulfil their duty of care to you in this way, the financial burden can be significant.

You or your business may also suffer reputational damage, leaving you in a challenging situation. When it comes to approaching the mistakes with HMRC, you may need to pay fines. If you suffer this type of loss as a direct consequence of negligent advice from your accountant, you should contact us for accountant negligence advice as soon as possible.

Missing key deadlines

In any trade, most payment deadlines are time-critical. If an accountant misses the relevant deadlines to file an annual tax return, your business may be looked upon unfavourably by HMRC.

Without timely support and investigation from an established team of professional negligence lawyers, your business might face fines or even suspension as a result of your accountant’s inability to fulfil their responsibilities.

Incorrect or misleading valuations

Professional negligence is surprisingly common in property purchasing. A client might encounter a financial loss after finding out that their property has been valued incorrectly by a surveyor. This situation can be financially catastrophic, resulting in a property being bought for more than its real value.

When the lender appoints the surveyor on the buyer’s behalf, there’s often no contact between the two parties. However, even in this case, buyers who have encountered a financial result after an overvaluation can still get in touch with our specialist professional negligence solicitors.

Recommending the incorrect survey type

Different buildings require different types of survey, and it’s part of a surveyor’s responsibility to understand every niche in their trade. This is one example of a surveyor demonstrating insufficient knowledge or experience, which could be grounds for a professional negligence claim if their client suffered a financial loss as a result.

Failure to notice damage or defects

When a property isn’t inspected properly, vital information can be overlooked. This could cause various issues and increase the maintenance demands for the homeowners later down the line.

Professional negligence may arise if the surveyor fails to carry out their inspection thoroughly and to the expected standard. If any major risk factors or hazards are later identified in the property, the surveyor could be liable.

How do I make a professional negligence claim?

If you think you have a claim, please contact our professional negligence solicitors.

Our initial consultation is free and, during this time, we aim to ascertain the likelihood of a successful claim. To further proceed with any professional negligence claim, we may need to see the professional’s file to determine whether they were negligent. We also need to see supporting evidence from an independent subject matter expert, such as a forensic accountant, to confirm that there has been a breach of duty.

Are there any time limits on professional negligence claims?

Yes. There are statutory time limits imposed by law for bringing negligence claims. These limitation periods are detailed within the Limitation Act 1980.

Following most professional negligence actions, you have six years in which to file a claim with the court. However, there are exceptions to the rule depending on the circumstances of the case. Failure to comply or recognise the relevant limitation period or date may result in you losing your opportunity to pursue your claim.

Limitation in professional negligence claims is a complex issue and is often a point of contention between the parties involved in litigation. If you are unsure of the time limit that applies to your case, please do not hesitate to call us. By delaying, you may jeopardise your chance.

How will I pay for my claim?

Should it be determined that your professional negligence claim is valid, in most cases we will be able to offer a Conditional Fee Agreement, also known as ‘No Win No Fee‘.

There are several advantages to this agreement. Firstly, it shows that we have confidence in your case and its success. Secondly, it protects you financially, as you will not pay a thing if your professional negligence claim is unsuccessful. No Win No Fee provides a clear framework for payment with no hidden charges.

Contact our professional negligence lawyers today

If you would like to know more about our professional negligence claim services, call us on 0800 234 3234 to speak to a member of our legal team. You can also request a call back at a time that suits you or complete our simple online claims form.

Our experts at Been Let Down are here to help you get back on track. To find out how we can help you succeed with a professional negligence claim, get in touch today.

"*" indicates required fields

Common Claims