Are you a Victim of Professional Negligence? by Deborah Prance

This area of law covers disputes concerning the work of a professionally qualified person such as a surveyor or valuer, a doctor or surgeon, an accountant, financial adviser, barrister or lawyer, to name but a few examples.

The law of negligence exists to enable people to sue for damages in respect of their losses arising from an error or breach of an individual’s legal duty to take care for whatever reason. Professional people, in undertaking work or providing advice, are expected by law to show the average amount of competence of someone within that profession. If they fall short and this causes a loss to the person for whom they undertook the work, that person is entitled to sue for damages in respect of their loss.

The Civil Procedure Rules incorporate a Pre-action Protocol which needs to be followed in respect of any Professional Negligence Claim (except where it concerns an architect, engineer of quantity surveyor in which case the Pre-action Protocol in relation to Construction and Engineering disputes should be followed). The aim of this, as with all Pre-action Protocols, is to facilitate a settlement of the claim without the need for court proceedings. This provides for a detailed Letter of Claim setting out the facts on which the claim is based, the allegations of negligence and an estimate of the financial loss suffered. The letter requests that the matter is referred to the professional’s insurers. The professional/his insurers will then have three months to investigate the claim and indicate whether liability will be admitted. If liability is not admitted, consideration should be given to alternative dispute resolution.

Deborah Prance, head of our Dispute Resolution Department, has many years’ experience dealing with these matters and is able to provide expert advice in solving Professional Negligence claims. If you consider that you might have a claim against a professional, please contact Deborah Prance.