Whether you are an individual, sole trader or a limited company you are likely to seek advice from professionals from time to time. It may be that you use a solicitor to help you buy your house, employ a surveyor to advise you about your possible purchase, use an architect to provide you with advice for a proposed extension or ask an accountant to prepare your company’s accounts.

Do I have a claim?

If the advice given to you is wrong, so that the professional you engaged fails to use proper care and skill in providing that service to you, a claim for professional negligence may exist.

As you have a contract with the professional, they may also be in breach of the contract in failing to take reasonable care in giving you advice.

What do I have to prove?

In order to show a claim in professional negligence exists, you must show that:

1. You instructed the professional to carry out a particular job on your behalf; and
2. That the job was carried out negligently; and
3. You relied upon the advice given to you by the professional; and
4. You have suffered a financial loss as a result of the negligence; and
5. Had you been properly advised, you would be in a more favourable financial position than you are now.

What is ‘professional negligence’?

‘Professional negligence’ is where a professional person makes errors whilst providing you with a service.

There is detailed case law setting out when a professional owes you a duty of care, when this can be said to have been breached and what types of harm you may have suffered as a result.

You must show that the professional did not meet the standard to be reasonably expected of a reasonably competent person in that profession.

You must also show that the actions or advice of the professional which was negligent caused you a financial loss.

How can you help me?

The first step we would take on your behalf is to obtain the paperwork and file from the professional in question.

If your claim relates to another solicitor, we will consider if the advice given to you was negligent in any way. If it was another professional involved, it may be that you will require advice from an independent expert in that profession to assess if any negligence can be shown. For example, in a case of possible surveyor’s negligence, expert advice will be obtained from a surveyor to comment and report on the situation.

What losses can I claim for?

If you can establish a claim in negligence, we will consider with you what your financial losses are as a result. Often, a comparison is made between what you did and what you would have done if the advice given had not been negligent. For example, if a surveyor advised you of the presence of dry rot in a property, you may not have bought it at the price actually paid as you have subsequently found out it is not worth that amount.

Compensation for professional negligence seeks to put you back in the position you would have been in if the professional had not been negligent. Those losses must not be too remote, that is the loss is not too far-fetched.

You have a duty to ‘mitigate your loss’ which means you must take reasonable steps to ensure that your financial losses are kept to a minimum and not take any unreasonable steps to increase your loss.

How do I bring a claim?

To initiate a claim in professional negligence we would prepare a letter of claim setting out the factual background, act of negligence and how this has caused you a loss. The Court rules require such a letter before any Court action is taken under the Pre-Action Protocol for Professional Negligence.

That letter usually requires the professional to notify their insurers and a response received within a set timescale, which is usually 3 months from the date of the letter.

Is there a time limit for bringing a claim?

Any claim for professional negligence must generally be brought within 6 years of the negligence occurring and causing you a loss.

In certain cases there may be different time limits and we will discuss these with you. If your claim is not brought within the proper time limit you will not be able to pursue the claim.

If you are claiming for breach of contract then you must bring your action against within 6 years of the date of the breach of contract.

What else can I do?

ou can consider complaining to the relevant ombudsman that regulates the profession in question to investigate your complaint, in the case of solicitors this is the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Because a professional will generally strongly defend any claim of negligence brought against them, in particular if their insurers appoint their own solicitors to defend the claim, we recommend that you take your own legal advice to help you pursue your claim to the very best advantage.