We rely on professional service providers such as accountants, surveyors and financial advisors to look after us and provide specialist skills and an excellent service at some of the most important times of our lives.
If the service you experience falls below industry standards or you experience loss due to the service providers actions, you may find yourself in the position of wondering “how do I sue for professional negligence?”
How do I sue for professional negligence? If a professional service provider has done something, or failed to do something that has led you to suffer loss or damage during the course of providing a service to you or your business, then they may have been professionally negligent and you could have cause to sue.
To sue for professional negligence you should contact a solicitor specialising in professional negligence claims for legal advice as soon as you think you have a case. At Hattons Law we have a team dedicated to investigating and securing professional negligence claims on behalf of our clients in and around the North West of England.
DISCUSS YOUR CASE
Suing For Professional Negligence?
We use Solicitors for buying houses, setting up businesses, dealing with wills and probate, Surveyors to ensure buildings are safe and accountants to ensure our accounts and taxes are exemplary, but even the most qualified professionals can make mistakes.
When mistakes are made you, the client shouldn’t be penalised. Read on to find out what options you have for taking action against professional negligence when you have suffered a loss or damage due to poor advice or services received from any professional contract you have in place.
What Does It Mean To Sue?
We’ve all seen people threatening to sue in the movies and on TV but what does this actually mean in the real world? When you sue somebody, you are instigating legal proceedings against a person or institution, typically with the intention of recovering money from them in compensation for loss or damage you have suffered at their hands.
What Is Professional Negligence?
Professional negligence is when a professional service provider instructed to deliver work on your behalf fails to perform their services to the required standard and this failure causes a loss to you, the client.
How Can I Sue For Professional Negligence?
The simple answer is you don’t. If you feel you have a claim for professional negligence you should seek the help of a solicitor specialising in negligence claims at the earliest opportunity. Your solicitor will then take you through the standard legal standard process for matters of this nature if you have a valid claim for professional negligence.
Do I Have A Case For Professional Negligence?
We appreciate that it is incredibly frustrating when you are let down by a professional service provider but it’s also important to realise they may not always be negligent. This means that as professional negligence lawyers, the first thing we need to do when you want to pursue a professional negligence claim is to assess if the claim is valid and if it can meet the legal test of negligence.
To establish if you have a case for professional negligence we will review your case with you to understand if a duty of care was breached and if we can prove that the reported loss was caused by the negligent act or advice given by the service provider.
Once we have established there is cause for a professional negligence claim we are then required to comply with the ‘Professional Negligence Pre-Action Protocol (the “Protocol”).
Find Out More: Can I Sue My Accountant For Professional Negligence?
What Is The Protocol For Professional Negligence Claims?
The Protocol is a series of statutory communications between the claimant and the negligent party that must be actioned and responded to by each side within a set timeframe. This framework allows for the most efficient and cost effective handling of the case.
During this process our team will clearly communicate the claim, damages sought and legal basis for the claim. The service provider being sued is then required to provide a Letter of Response in which they can either admit the claim and make a proposal for a settlement, or dispute the claim.
If a settlement cannot be reached using the protocol then court proceedings will be issued.
Who can be professionally negligent?
Anyone who is required to have a particular set of skills in order to deliver the service they provide to their customers can be called a professional. This means the list of people that can be professionally negligent is vast, but some of the most common professions that find themselves in the midst of professional negligence claims include: solicitors, barristers, surveyors, builders, engineers, financial advisors, insurance brokers, architects, accountants and IT professionals.
Related Questions
How Much Can I Sue For?
When it comes to damages claimed and awarded for professional negligence, every case is different. The amount you can sue for will be dependent on the specifics of your circumstances but should put you into the position that you would have been in if the negligence hadn’t occurred. This means any claim made will cover the damages suffered and will be calculated from the date of the service breach that led to the losses being incurred.
Is There A Time Limit To Make A Professional Negligence Claim?
In most cases, a professional negligence claim must be made within six years from the date of negligence. There are times however when this limitation period may be extended. If the facts that led to the professional negligence claim don’t come to light until years after the damage occurred, then the six year time period may be extended and the claim can still be pursued.
Potential claimants should know that there is a 15 year time limit of which all claims must be brought, so if you are in any doubt about the time that has passed since you suffered damage or loss then always speak to your solicitor in the first instance who will help you to establish what the best cause of action is.
Summary
Professionals such as surveyors and accountants offer very important services to their clients. When these services fall below the standard and quality required and their client incurs a loss as a result then professional negligence may have occurred.
Examples of professional negligence may include: an accountant failing to detect fraud, a surveyor failing to spot a defect in a property or a solicitor missing an important deadline in a case. In each of these cases the customer is likely to experience significant loss or damages.
The key things to take away from this article if you are considering suing for professional negligence are:
- You must make your claim as soon as you become aware of the loss or damage incurred.
- If you think you can sue for professional negligence you should seek the advice of a professional negligence lawyers like those at Hattons Solicitors as soon as you can in order to discuss the merits of your case and the options available to you.
Find Out More
To discuss suing for professional negligence and find out more about the damages you could be able to claim, please use our contact form to get in touch or call 01744 744400 to speak to our specialist professional negligence Lawyers today. We will work with you to understand your case in depth in order to work towards securing the best outcome possible for you.
Hattons Solicitors is based in St Helens, Merseyside and the firm has been providing efficient, affordable and high quality legal services to members of the public and the wider business community since 2001. Professional excellence and quality of work is reinforced by our Law Society Lexcel Accreditation, and membership to the Law Society. Our friendly team will always listen to you and your needs before working with you to deliver the best approach that best meets your needs.
Posted on: 10/Sep/2020 Posted in: Professional Negligence