Professional Negligence
The procedure relating to professional negligence claims enables legal disputes between people or organisations that are caused by the negligence of professionals to be resolved through negotiation or through the courts. The Civil Procedure Rules contain a pre-action protocol for Professional Negligence that sets out the steps to be taken in connection with any professional claim.
We are able to give advice and guidance on whether the professional, being an accountant, doctor, architect, builder, solicitor or other professional body was negligent in your particular circumstances.
In the first instance, we will advise you whether you have a professional negligence claim. In some cases this can be simple to assess, such as large cracks forming in a newly built house or a solicitor acting for you missing a legal deadline date. In other cases such as work undertaken by an accountant or suryeyor, it may not be immediately obvious whether the advice or service that you have received amounts to negligence. Many negligence claims are full of uncertainties and it is therefore necessary to obtain legal advice to clarify your position as to whether a negligence claim can be brought against the professional.
To establish negligence against the professional you have to prove that the professional owed you a duty to act in a reasonably competent manner, that the professional has failed to do so and that as a result you have suffered some sort of loss. It is important to appreciate that just because something has gone wrong or not as had been hoped or anticipated this does not mean that the professional has been negligent.
Most professionals will have professional indemnity insurance and in most cases the defendants insurance company will be appointed to act on their behalf throughout. The insurance company will adapt a commercial and objective approach to litigation and their procedures and eventual conclusion of a claim can be lengthy.
Our teams have a wealth of experience in all professional negligence situations. We will liaise with the insurance company or the defendant directly on your behalf, collecting files, contracts other paperwork and submitting all necessary documentation to the relevant parties and courts, negotiating and pursuing your claim to ensure a quicker conclusion.
For further advice on negligence that you have suffered or information on pursuing a claim then contact one of our professional negligence team members below.
For more infomation please contact one of the following:
| Name | Position | Office |
| Patrick Langrishe | Partner | Budleigh Salterton |
| Craig Oliver | Solicitor | Exeter |
| Denise Strawbridge | Legal Executive | Exeter |
