This guide examines who could be eligible to start a professional negligence claim against a personal injury solicitor. You will find information on the duty of care solicitors owe to their clients, and how your personal injury claim may be adversely affected by a breach of this duty.
Professional Negligence Claim FAQs
In this guide, you will find a rundown of the circumstances where solicitor professional negligence can occur and the effects this can have on your claim. We have also provided information on how compensation settlements in professional negligence claims are calculated, and the potential compensation that could be awarded following a successful claim.
To conclude our guide, you can find an overview discussing the terms of the No Win No Fee contract under which our solicitors can offer their services, and the advantages this brings to claimants who choose to work with us.
Contact our dedicated team of advisors for a free consultation regarding the validity of your potential claim. You can speak to a member of the team using the following contact details:
- Call on 0800 073 8801.
- Use our live chat box for a quick response to your queries.
- Fill in our “Contact Us” form online.
Browse Our Guide
- When Could I Make A Professional Negligence Claim Against A Solicitor?
- How Long Do You Have To Claim For Professional Negligence?
- What Types Of Professional Negligence Claims Could You Make Against A Solicitor?
- What Evidence Could Help You Make A Professional Negligence Claim?
- How Much Could I Claim For Solicitor Professional Negligence?
- Can I Claim With A No Win No Fee Professional Negligence Solicitor?
- How Do I Start My Professional Negligence Claim?
When Could I Make A Professional Negligence Claim Against A Solicitor?
Solicitors are required to undergo extensive training and professional accreditation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the professional regulatory body of solicitors and law firms in England and Wales. The duty of care solicitors owe it to provide the correct standard of service to their clients. Professional negligence can occur when a solicitor has caused their client to experience some form of loss through their failure to provide the correct standard of service.
The eligibility criteria to start a professional negligence claim against a personal injury solicitor are as follows:
- The solicitor owed a duty of care to provide legal services at the expected standard to you.
- There was a breach of this duty by the solicitor failing to meet the expected standard of service.
- You experienced a loss of chance because of the breach.
Loss of chance refers to the lost opportunity to pursue your claim either in part or in its entirety. This will be explored in more detail later in the guide. You must be able to show that the loss you incurred would not have occurred had the solicitor handled your claim to the correct standard.
How Long Do You Have To Claim For Professional Negligence?
The time limit for a professional negligence claim is, in most cases, 6 years. This means you have 6 years to initiate legal proceedings.
For further advice on the time limitation period, or to get a free assessment of your eligibility, speak to our advisors via any of the contact details given at the top of this guide.
What Types Of Professional Negligence Claims Could You Make Against A Solicitor?
As mentioned above, solicitors are trained professionals held to strict standards by their professional regulator, the SRA. The standards of service and expectations of conduct are set out in the SRA Code of Conduct.
While failures to comply with the Code may not always reach the threshold for professional negligence, you have the right to complain to the SRA if you are dissatisfied with the service provided by your solicitor.
There are a number of circumstances where you could experience a loss of chance because your solicitor failed to uphold the correct standard of service. We have outlined some example scenarios below.
Could I Claim If My Solicitor Missed The Claims Time Limit?
The time limitation period for a personal injury claim is generally 3 years from the accident date, as established by the Limitation Act 1980. Your solicitor failing to bring your claim within the relevant time limit could result in your claim being “statute-barred.” This means you legally cannot pursue a claim as the time limit has expired, regardless of your claim’s validity.
A failure to begin legal proceedings within the limitation period can constitute professional negligence.
Could I Claim If My Case Was Under-Settled?
“Under-settlement” is where you receive a lower compensation payout than you are entitled to. This could occur, for example, when your solicitor fails to obtain the correct medical evidence for your psychiatric injuries, resulting in compensation being awarded for a physical injury only. Errors in calculating loss of earnings despite having all the necessary evidence demonstrating your financial losses could also result in an under-settlement.
Could I Claim If My Case Was Struck Out?
A “strike-out” is where a court ejects either part of a claim or the claim in its entirety. This could happen in different ways, for example:
- Making unsubstantiated claims to the court through not acquiring adequate supporting evidence.
- Not adhering to court instructions.
For further guidance on what amounts to solicitor professional negligence, talk to one of our advisors today. You can get in contact using any of the details given above.
What Evidence Could Help You Make A Professional Negligence Claim?
In order to begin a professional negligence claim against your personal injury solicitor, you will need to show evidence that, on the balance of probabilities, the claim would have succeeded if not for the solicitor’s negligent action.
Some possible evidence you could collect is detailed here:
- Communication between you and the solicitor regarding your initial personal injury claim.
- Any notes taken during meetings with the solicitor.
- The email or letter explaining why your claim ended.
You can also provide evidence from your failed claim to demonstrate it was valid and had a chance of success. This could be:
- Medical documentation, such as a copy of an X-ray, to highlight the extent of your injuries.
- For an accident at work, you can acquire a copy of the incident report from the accident book.
- Pictures of your injuries and the accident cause.
- Witness statements can be useful for providing accounts of how the accident took place, so be sure to take down their contact details.
For further advice on what evidence you could collect to support your claim, please contact an advisor on the number above.
How Much Could I Claim For Solicitor Professional Negligence?
The objective of compensation awarded in a successful professional negligence claim is to return the claimant to the position they’d have been in had the solicitor not acted negligently. This means that you could be awarded compensation under general and special damages, as would have occurred had the initial personal injury claim been decided in your favour.
Compensation for the pain and suffering you experienced as a result of your injuries is awarded under general damages. Our compensation table has been created using the figures from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document, published by the Judicial College, contains guideline award brackets for an array of different injuries.
It is also possible for you to receive interest at 8% per annum on the compensation awarded. This is to account for the interest that would have accrued had you won your original claim.
Compensation Table
We have included this table as guidance only since compensation is calculated on a case-by-case basis.
| Injury | Severity | Guideline Bracket | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arm | Severe (a) | £96,160 to £130,930 | Extremely serious injuries that leave the injured person little better off than if an amputation had occurred. |
| Less Severe (c) | £19,200 to £39,170 | While there have been significant disabilities, substantial recovery will have occurred or be expected. | |
| Back | Severe (a)(ii) | £74,160 to £88,430 | Damage to nerve roots causing impaired mobility, loss of sensation, and impaired bladder and bowel function. |
| Moderate (b)(i) | £27,760 to £38,780 | Examples include crush fractures of lumbar vertebrae with a substantial risk of osteoarthritis. | |
| Neck | Severe (a)(iii) | £45,470 to £55,990 | Cases involving fractures, dislocations or severe damage to soft tissues causing significant permanent disability. |
| Moderate (b)(i) | £24,990 to £38,490 | Injuries such as dislocations or fractures causing severe immediate symptoms which may necessitate spinal fusion. | |
| Leg | Severe (b)(iii) | £39,200 to £54,830 | Serious compound or comminuted fractures or other injuries to joints or ligaments. |
| Severe (b)(iv) | £27,760 to £39,200 | Moderate injuries such as complicated or multiple fractures or severe crush injuries, generally to a single limb. | |
| Hands | Less Serious (g) | £14,450 to £29,000 | Cases involving a severe crush injury leading to significantly impaired function. |
| Moderate (h) | £5,720 to £13,280 | Crush injuries, penetrating wounds or deep lacerations . Level of award will depend on success of surgery and any permanent disability. |
Special Damages
Any financial losses you experience due to your injuries could be reimbursed under the head of claim called special damages. This can include lost earnings or any out-of-pocket medical expenses. To be awarded compensation under special damages you will need to provide evidence of losses. Keep copies of any documents, such as your payslips, receipts and invoices, as proof of your financial losses.
For a more personalised estimate of what compensation could be awarded for your specific claim, talk to a member of our team. You can reach our advisors using the contact details given below.
Can I Claim With A No Win No Fee Professional Negligence Solicitor?
Contact our advisors today for a cost-free no-obligation assessment of your potential claim. One our of solicitors could take your case under a No Win No Fee contract known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) if it is decided you have valid grounds to proceed.
By starting your claim with us under a CFA, you will not incur fees upfront for the solicitor to begin work on your claim in most cases. You will also not incur fees as that work progresses during the claims process itself. In the event the claim fails, you will not be met with a fee for the solicitor’s services.
If your professional negligence claim is successful, the solicitor will take a percentage amount of the awarded compensation as their success fee. Success fee percentages are capped by law. Therefore, you will keep most of any awarded compensation.
How Do I Start My Professional Negligence Claim?
Contact our dedicated team of advisors for a free consultation regarding the validity of your potential claim. You can speak to a member of the team using the following contact details:
- Call on 0800 073 8801.
- Use our live chat box for a quick response to your queries.
- Fill in our “Contact Us” form online.
Where Can I Read More About Professional Negligence Claims?
See some of our guides on other topics, such as personal injury claims:
- See what your claim could be worth after you fell down some stairs at work.
- Learn about when you could be eligible to claim for an accident on a one-way road.
- Find out more about making public park accident claims.
Further resources that may be of use:
- The SRA has prepared guidance on information you should expect to receive from your solicitor.
- The Law Society has published information on civil litigation.
- See the glossary of legal jargon from the SRA here.
We’d like to thank you for reading our guide exploring frequently asked questions regarding making a professional negligence claim. For further guidance regarding any of the information provided in this guide, or to get a free assessment of your potential claim, speak to our advisors today. You can reach our team using the contact information given above.