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The ins and outs of professional negligence
There are many times in our professional and personal lives.We need to enlist the skills expertise of other people .
You may hire a financial advisor to offer you assistance with your finances. Business or personal e.g planning permission to build an extension on your home, or to expand your company premises.
What is professional negligence?
The Ministry of Justice defines professional negligence as “when a claimant wishes to claim against a professional (other than construction professionals and healthcare providers) as a result of that professional’s alleged negligence or equivalent breach of contract or breach of fiduciary duty”.
There are several factors that go into professional negligence claims and you will generally have to prove at least one, and often all, of the following occurred to secure compensation.
Duty of care
Professionals expect to carry out service while avoiding any actions inactions could reasonably be foreseen to cause harm to others. An accountant, for example has a duty of care to properly report on a company’s tax obligations.
Breach of duty
A duty of care establish it must also be prove the professional in breach of that duty. Returning to our accountant example the professional fail to collect necessary data it readily available may constitute breach of duty.
Loss
Sticking with finances, losing out on money through a fine from HMRC, reduce revenue or the loss of chance would constitute having lost as a result of someone else’s negligence. This can often be a key element – if there no loss and the service receive merely poor, it can be difficult to claim compensation and solicitors often find it difficult to pick up cases in this instance.
Causation
Once loss established, a link between that and the professional’s negligence is key to securing compensation. This essentially any evidence you can bring prove the professional’s actions, or failure to act, caused you to lose out.
How much can you get from a professional negligence claim?
This will largely depend on financial losses you have suffered as a result. Unlike medical negligence claims, which come with compensation guidelines set by the Judicial College, professional negligence compensation is almost entirely dictated by the circumstances of each individual case.
Once you have gathered as much evidence as possible, contact professional negligence experts for further advice. Your first consultation will often be free and will ascertain whether you have a case or not.
