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Solicitors Negligence Claims | Professional Negligence

By Lewis Cobain. Last Updated 10th November 2023. This guide will discuss the potential compensation that could be awarded for successful solicitors negligence claims against personal injury lawyers. All professionals, such as solicitors, surveyors and accountants, owe a duty of care to their clients. This means that they must provide services that meet the correct standard. If they fail to do this, you, as their client, could suffer from losses. For these losses, you may be eligible to receive professional negligence compensation. 

As we move through this guide, we will explain the criteria of eligibility your case must meet to have valid grounds to pursue compensation for solicitor negligence. What’s more, we will look at different types of professional negligence claims and explain the evidence you could use to prove your solicitor’s liability.   

Finally, we will explain what the term No Win No Fee agreement means and discuss how this could help you to access the services of a professional negligence solicitor without paying upfront fees for these services.

At Legal Expert, we have a team dedicated to handling solicitors negligence claims arising from personal injury cases, such as accident at work claims, road traffic accident claims and public liability claims. Therefore, if you have any questions regarding your potential claim, don’t hesitate to contact one of our friendly advisors. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to help you at a time most convenient for you.  

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Could I Be Eligible To Make A Claim For Solicitors Negligence?

There is a criterion of eligibility that must be met for you to make a professional negligence claim against a personal injury solicitor. This is as follows:

  • Firstly, you were owed you a duty of care by a personal injury solcitor to provide you with services of the correct standard.
  • Secondly, they breached this duty of care.
  • As a result of this breach, you suffered from losses, such as loss of compensation.

This is professional negligence. It is important to note that if you want to pursue compensation for this, you must prove that the losses you suffered would not have occurred if your solicitor hadn’t breached their duty of care.

As well as meeting the criteria above, professional negligence claims against personal injury solicitors must be started within the correct time limits. We will discuss these in the following section.

What Is The Professional Negligence Limitation Period?

The limitation period for a professional negligence claim is generally six years. This means that you should begin legal proceedings within six years of the professional negligence taking place.

If you would like further insight into your eligibility to make a claim or you are uncertain whether your case is within the relevant limitation period, please speak to a member of our team.

Examples Of Solicitors Negligence Claims

Ahead of beginning the claims process, the last thing you might expect is dealing with a negligent solicitor. However, solicitors and lawyers can fail you. If you can demonstrate that you have suffered financial losses as a result of professional negligence, compensation may be awarded to you.

If you are unsure whether you are eligible to claim compensation for solicitors negligence, there are some example scenarios below where a valid professional negligence claim may arise:

  • Your claim may be incorrectly valued, resulting in you accepting a low award offer and losing out on a higher compensation amount.
  • A solicitor could fail to submit your claim within the relevant time limit, resulting in your claim being time-barred.
  • Advice may be given to you that is inaccurate and causes you to make a decision that ultimately hinders the compensation you receive, or results in your claim failing.

Please don’t hesitate to contact our advisors for free advice on how to claim for professional negligence.

What Types Of Lawyers Could Solicitor Negligence Claims Be Made Against?

To be eligible to make a professional negligence claim against any kind of solicitor, you will need to prove that they breached their duty of care, and this caused your original claim to fail.

Some examples of lawyers and solicitors that could act negligently and be claimed against include:

  •   Personal injury lawyers.
  •   Medical negligence lawyers.
  •   Road traffic accident lawyers.

These are only a few examples of specialist lawyers and solicitors that you could potentially bring a claim against for solicitor negligence. To learn more about the solicitor’s negligence claims process, or to find out if you could be entitled to make a claim for professional negligence, contact our team today.

Evidence For Solicitors’ Negligence Claims

When making a professional negligence claim, you will need to provide sufficient evidence that shows your initial personal injury claim would have been successful.

Some examples of evidence that could be useful to prove solicitor negligence occurred include:

  • Correspondence between yourself and your solicitor, such as emails and letters.
  • Any notes from meetings or calls between you and your solicitor regarding your initial claim and its process.
  • A letter or email from your solicitor explaining why your claim has ended. This letter may provide further information on the error your solicitor made that caused the claim to fail.

To help prove that your initial case would have been successful, you could submit the same evidence you collected for your initial personal injury claim. This may have included:

  • Your medical records from the time of the accident. These should show the nature of your injury and what treatment you required.
  • Videos of the accident, such as CCTV footage.
  • The contact details of anyone who witnessed the accident.

If you would like free advice about suing a solicitor for professional negligence, please get in touch with one of our advisors. They’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, via the details at the top of the page.

How Much Compensation Can I Claim For Solicitors Negligence?

The purpose of this type of claim is to restore you to the position you would have been in had professional negligence not occurred. Therefore, making a successful professional negligence claim against a personal injury solicitor could mean that you receive up to two types of damages: general and special damages, as you would have done if your initial claim had been successful.

Firstly, general damages in personal injury claims compensate for the mental harm and/or the physical pain and suffering resulting from your injuries. We have created the table below using the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) as a guide to general damages. Solicitors can also use the JCG to help them value personal injury claims.

What’s more, you could also receive 8% interest on top of your compensation for each year that has passed from your initial personal injury claim.

Guideline Compensation Table

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Injury Type Severity Notes on this Injury Guideline Compensation Brackets
Several Serious Injuries With Special Damages Very Serious Compensation is awarded for several serious injuries and any financial losses such as travel and medical expenses. Up to £350,000+
Arm Amputation Loss of Both Arms (a) A person with full awareness is reduced to a state of considerable helplessness. £240,790 to £300,000
Paralysis Paraplegia (b) The compensation award will consider the age and life expectancy of the person, as well as the presence and extent of any pain. £219,070 to £284,260
Brain Damage Moderately Severe (b) Constant care will be a necessity. The person substantially depends upon others and will be very seriously disabled. £219,070 to £282,010
Leg Injuries Amputation (a)(ii) Both legs amputated below the knee. £201,490 to £270,100
Leg Injuries Less Serious (c)(i) An incomplete recovery from fractures or serious soft tissue injuries. £17,960 to £27,760
Hand Injuries Complete or Effective Loss of One Hand (c) Applicable where a hand was crushed and surgically amputated or where most of the palm and all fingers were traumatically amputated. £96,160 to £109,650
Injuries Affecting Sight Complete Loss of One Eye (d) The award will consider cosmetic effect, the person’s age and psychiatric consequences. £54,830 to £65,710
Foot Injuries Serious (e) Injuries that lead to the risk of future arthritis or continuing pain from traumatic arthritis, a prolonged period of treatment and a risk of fusion surgery. £24,990 to £39,200
Wrist Injuries Significant Permanent Disability (b) Although the person will have a significant permanent disability, some useful movement will remain. £24,500 to £39,170
Shoulder Injuries Serious (b) Shoulder dislocation and harm to the lower portion of the brachial plexus. This causes aching, pain, weakness of grip and sensory symptoms. £12,770 to £19,200

Please consider this table as a guide. Furthermore, the first entry has not been taken from the JCG.

Professional Negligence Compensation – What Are Special Damages?

If you have valid grounds to make a professional negligence claim for general damages, then you may be able to claim additional compensation for special damages. Special damages are meant to compensate for financial losses or expenses which can be directly linked to the injuries covered by your initial claim.

With both personal injury claims and solicitor negligence claims, it’s only possible to claim for special damages if you are eligible to claim for general damages. Examples of special damages which could be included as part of your professional negligence compensation includes:

  • Loss of earnings (if your injuries forced you to take unpaid time off work or you’ve had to either change or leave your job).
  • Travel expenses you’ve accumulated in order to receive treatment for your injuries (such as train tickets or taxi fares).
  •  The cost of care or housing adaptations needed to allow you to complete everyday tasks at home.

For more advice on how much compensation for solicitors negligence may be offered for your claim, contact our advisors for free today.

Connect With No Win No Fee Professional Negligence Solicitors

A professional negligence solicitor can use their experience handling claims of a similar nature to provide you with expert advice and guidance. Also, they can help you to collect evidence and present a complete claim.

A solicitor could offer to take on a professional negligence claim under a type of No Win No Fee agreement referred to as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

This means that your solicitor would work on your case without charging you upfront or ongoing fees for their services. Also, it means that you wouldn’t be expected to pay for their services in the event that the claim is unsuccessful.

On the other hand, in the event that the case succeeds, your solicitor can take a legally-capped percentage of the compensation. This is referred to as a success fee.

Contact Us About Solicitors Negligence Claims

Please contact a member of our team to discuss your potential professional negligence claim. If they discover that you could have valid grounds to make a claim, they may decide to place you in contact with one of our No Win No Fee professional negligence solicitors.

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      Patrick is a Grade A solicitor having qualified in 2005. He's an an expert in accident at work and public liability claims and is currently our head of the EL/PL department. Get in touch today for free to see how we can help you.