Professional negligence is defined as the breach of duty of care between a professional and their client. Duty of care is a common law arrangement whereby the client is expected to receive a certain level of professionalism and standards held by those in that profession.
Do I have a case of professional negligence?
Clients often wonder whether or not they have a claim under professional negligence, however, if you have experienced a poor level of service and suffered a financial loss because of this, you may have a case.
Professions that most commonly face professional negligence claims include:
- Solicitors
- Barristers
- Accountants
- Surveyors
- Engineers
- Architects
- Financial advisors
This is not an exhaustive list, and JMR Solicitors can advise you is your case is worth pursuing. These types of claims often arise when a professional has given incorrect or incomplete advice or missed key deadlines.
Once a claim has begun, it is often the case that professionals will become defensive when their competence has been questioned. It is therefore vital that you have expert legal advice from the outset to assist you in handling these matters properly.
In order for the claim to be successful, it will need to be demonstrated that the client was owed a duty of care, that the professional breached that duty of care and that the breach directly caused financial losses.
A professional negligence claim should normally be made within six years from when the breach of duty of care or actionable damage occurred.