Unfortunately, even professionals make mistakes, and this is more common than meets the eye, and can be caused by incompetence or too much work taken on at the same time. Negligence claims and law is a specialist area where usually any claim is ultimately dealt with by insurers, which in turn generally means that a specialist professional negligence solicitor is needed who has experience and expertise in professional negligence law and claims and also experience of handling claims against insurers. It is also generally the case that insurers will take a claim more seriously where the negligence case is dealt with by a solicitor for the claimant. Our negligence solicitors and lawyers, in London, are here to help and advise.
At Darlingtons, we have specialist professional negligence solicitors and lawyers dedicated to assisting in claims against negligent professionals including
• solicitors
• barristers
• accountants
• architects
• surveyors and valuers
• estate agents
What are the legal basics to prove negligence ?
In order to establish that a professional has been negligent, you must show that the professional:
1. owed you a duty of care;
2. breached that duty; and
3. as a direct result of that breach of duty you have suffered a recoverable loss.
Duty of care
Establishing that you were owed a duty of care by a professional will depend upon the relationship between you and the professional, but such relationships often involve a direct contractual relationship where establishing a duty of care will usually be straightforward but in certain circumstances, a duty of care will still be owed even where there is no contractual relationship
Breach of duty of care
The starting point for relationships with professionals is what duties were agreed in the contract between you and the. However, the scope of the duty is often wider than the strict contractual one, generally the standard of service must fall below that which can be reasonably expected of the professional within his or her particular profession. This often comes down to rules of conduct or accepted practice for a profession and/or expert evidence given by a suitable professional in the same field as to what the generally accepted standard should be for the work undertaken or services provided.
Loss not compensation
English law is fundamentally about proving loss and not whether compensation should be awarded for stress and anxiety. It is also generally insufficient to simply show a breach of duty and that some loss has been caused. There needs to be a direct consequential link between the professional’s breach of duty and loss suffered and this area is generally one of the most difficult and hotly contested areas of professional negligence cases.
Solicitors negligence
There are numerous ways in which legal advice and services can go wrong, but some of the more common areas are :-
• General mistakes with conveyancing, financial errors and missing or failing to advise on issues with leases
• Missing legal deadlines regarding litigation, lease renewals and many other areas
• Errors, lack of advice or wrong advise relating to wills and probate
• General bad advice or inadequate service
Accountants negligence
Examples of potential accountancy negligence are :-
• inadequate planning, control and recording of an audit
• errors in the preparation of accounts
• incorrect advice e.g. in relation to taxation or the valuation of shares
Financial advisors negligence
The duties/liabilities of financial advisers can arise from :-
• a breach of a statutory provision
• a breach of a relevant code of practice
• Negligent advice on mortgages, pensions and investments and also payment protection insurance and endowments
• negligence in respect of the failure to act with the degree of care and skill to be expected of a reasonably competent financial adviser.
Surveyors negligence
Examples of negligence by surveyors include :-
• failing to inspect properly
• failing to observe visible defects in the property e.g. dry rot, woodworm, cracking and subsidence
• failing to make sufficient enquiries
• producing an inadequate report e.g. in terms of failing to warn that some items require further investigation
For further advice and assistance, please contact us, either by telephone or by completing our online negligence enquiry form
