When professionals fail to provide services with the reasonable skill and care expected in their field, clients may be entitled to bring a professional negligence claim. These claims commonly arise against solicitors, barristers, accountants, surveyors, architects, engineers, financial advisers, insurance brokers and other professionals, who owe a duty of care to those relying on their expertise.
Professional negligence claims can be brought in contract, negligence (tort), or, in some circumstances, equity.
A professional may owe duties under more than one legal framework at the same time, allowing claimants to pursue alternative avenues of recovery depending on the circumstances of the case.
To succeed in a professional negligence claim, a claimant must generally establish:
- The professional owed a duty of care.
- The professional breached that duty by failing to exercise reasonable skill and care.
- The breach caused the claimant to suffer loss.
- The losses claimed are recoverable under the law.
Professional negligence claims often involve complex issues of causation and loss. Claimants must demonstrate that they would have acted differently had proper advice or services been provided and that doing so would have avoided or reduced their losses.
Time Limits for Bringing a Claim
Professional negligence claims are subject to strict limitation periods. In many cases, claims must be commenced within six years, although the date from which time starts to run can vary depending on whether the claim is brought in contract or negligence. Certain circumstances, such as latent damage or deliberate concealment, may affect these time limits.
Pre-Action Protocol
Before court proceedings are issued, parties are expected to follow the Pre-Action Protocol for Professional Negligence. The protocol encourages the early exchange of information, promotes settlement discussions and helps narrow the issues in dispute before litigation becomes necessary.
Remedies and Compensation
Where a professional negligence claim succeeds, the court may award damages to compensate for losses caused by the professional’s failings. The purpose of compensation is to place the claimant, as far as possible, in the position they would have been in had the negligence not occurred. Issues such as causation, remoteness and mitigation of loss will all influence the level of damages recoverable. It is likely that the professionals referred to above will be in receipt of professional indemnity insurance, which means they will have their defence costs covered by their insurer. We instruct leading expert and barristers in the field of professional negligence to ensure the best outcome and often without the need to issue proceedings, but engage in mediation.
How We Can Help
The civil litigation team have extensive experience advising clients on professional negligence claims across a wide range of professions. We can assess the merits of your claim, guide you through the pre-action process, negotiate with insurers and solicitors and, where necessary, pursue court proceedings to recover your losses.