Professional negligence is, as it sounds, a situation where a professional person has not adhered to the required standards in carrying out his or her responsibilities. This is a common law tort (a civil wrong) and professional negligence solicitors have become busier in recent years as the amount of claims has increased.

Why the increase?

The increased need for professional negligence solicitors is down to a combination of factors:

  • Improved awareness of the law
  • We are becoming a more litigious nation in general
  • The unstable economic climate of recent years has meant that losses are felt more keenly
  • Increased reliance on professional advice

Oratto member professional negligence solicitors will be able to discuss all of these in more depth with you and help you decide whether or not it will be in your best interests to commence a claim.

Who can I bring a claim against?

In theory you can bring a claim against anyone who holds a professional role. This includes accountants, lawyers, architects and financial advisers. The test for professional negligence is objective and to demonstrate a claim you will need to prove the following three things:

  • that a duty of care existed on the part of the professional person
  • that the person breached this duty of care
  • that this breach was the cause of financial loss to you

Oratto will be able to connect you instantly with a lawyer from a selection of professional negligence solicitors who will put their experience into establishing the facts of the case for you.

What else should I be considering?

There are limitation periods attached to professional negligence claims. The general time limit is six years, but this can be increased by certain factors. For example, when the damage became apparent. Professional negligence solicitors are skilled in advising on these situations, but, broadly speaking, you should act as soon as you can.

Issuing a claim

Once the grounds have been established, it’s not as simple as just issuing a claim. The Professional Negligence Pre-Action Protocol comes into effect first. This is essentially a loose framework designed to encourage the parties to work together through services such as mediation and perhaps avoid the need to go to court. What this also means is that there’s a significant amount of work to do before any proceedings are started.

Negligence is often a complex area of law and having the right professional negligence solicitor to guide you through it can be invaluable.

If you believe that you have suffered loss or damage through professional negligence, then contact Oratto to get your claim started today.