Professional Negligence Solicitors

Professional Negligence Lawyers

Professional negligence resolution for start-ups, scale-ups and the entrepreneurially spirited

Professionals that provide services are expected to do so with a required degree of skill and case. Sometimes, where work falls below a reasonable level of skill and care, and damage has resulted then recompense can be sought. This is when it’s time to seek expert advice from professional negligence solicitors.

We have experience in both pursuing damages and defending professionals in a broad range of sectors, including solicitors, surveyors, accountants, financial advisors, engineers, architects and many more.

Experienced professional negligence solicitors

We have experience in a wide range of matters including the following:

  • Successfully defending claims brought against professional advisors, including financial advisors and accountants.
  • Advising in successful claims brought against professional advisors including:
  • in relation to a property transaction resulting in an award of £3m,
  • the management of a deceased’s estate resulting in an award of £500k award; and
  • surveyor advice resulting in a significant award.

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    Legal Considerations

    Contract or Tort?

    Professional negligence is primarily a tortious claim founded on a duty to take reasonable care, however there is often a contractual element also, even if via implied term or through operation of statute.

    Duty Required

    To have a viable claim for professional negligence you need to establish that a duty of care or fiduciary/statutory duty exists, which has been breached and that breach caused the claimant to suffer recoverable loss.

    Demonstrable Loss

    You must demonstrate that the loss was directly caused by the negligence; i.e. ‘but for’ the action complained of would the damage still have resulted?

    Foreseeable Loss

    The question to consider is whether the loss was reasonably foreseeable and not too remote. This means the loss cannot have been caused by an intervening act of a third party, and was reasonably within the contemplation of the parties at the time of contracting, otherwise the chain of causation is broken.

    Pre-Action Protocol

    In the event that a claim is issued, then the parties must comply with the Professional Negligence Pre-Action Protocol, which encourages early cooperation between parties and the exchange of information to attempt to resolve without recourse to court proceedings.

    Find out how our professional negligence solicitors can help with disputes.

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    Other factors to Consider

    Any claims must be brought within the relevant limitation period. This is usually 6 years however this will be extended if the negligence only becomes apparent at a later date. If so, the limitation period is then 3 years from the date of discovery or from the date of knowledge of the position and when discovery ought to have taken place. It is important to seek legal advice on limitation periods, particularly if you feel the date is imminent.
    Is there insurance in place which would cover any court award? If not, then does the professional have assets?
    What damage has actually taken place? Sometimes the loss is not straightforward and can include a lost opportunity for instance. The general principle is that the Claimant is put back into the position they would have been in if the negligence had not taken place, but this can be difficult in those circumstances
    A defence of contributory negligence can be raised and the professional can claim that a claimant has contributed to their own loss. The Court will reduce any award if this is evident.
    Any claimant has a duty to mitigate their loss and avoid steps that increase the loss.
    The general rule regarding costs in most legal claims is that if you bring or defend a claim and you are successful then the opponent must pay your legal fees and associated costs. You may wish to consider taking out After the Event Insurance which is a policy to cover this eventuality.

    Other factors to Consider

    Company buyback of shares and subsequent cancellation.  This can be a useful route provided 75% of the shareholders will consent as the Company meets the acquisition cost; however it must have sufficient surplus cash.

    If a founder is looking to step aside then perhaps a reorganisation can assist with the variation of rights but retention of financial reward.

    An anti-embarrassment clause can operate effectively in any settlement agreement, with the sale price for shares being uplifted if an event such as a sale of the business occurs or funding is received subsequent to exit.

    A key to the resolution of a dispute is often an independent valuation of the relevant shareholding.  To secure this the parties will need to determine the basis of the valuation.

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