Can Professional Negligence Lawyers Help If My Case Is Struck Out?
Professional Negligence Lawyers
In this informative guide, we will discuss the potential benefits of using professional negligence lawyers to claim compensation after a case is struck out. As a result of a personal injury case being struck out by the courts, you may have suffered the loss of compensation. If this was caused by your lawyer breaching the duty of care that they owed to you, and you can prove that your initial claim would have been successful otherwise, you may be eligible to bring forward a professional negligence claim.
Working with a lawyer can provide benefits for both you and your professional negligence claim, which we will discuss in more detail in this guide. What’s more, we will also explain when you could be offered to enter into a No Win No Fee agreement and how this could help you to access a lawyer’s services without making upfront payments for them.
You can also speak to a member of our team at Legal Expert to discuss your potential professional negligence claim and receive free legal advice. Our advisors can provide advice on professional negligence claims that connect to personal injury claims, such as road traffic accidents, public liability claims and accidents at work. Also, they are available 24/7 to talk at a time that best suits you.
You can:
- Call our helpline on 0800 073 8804
- Claim online by filling out the form on our website
- Speak with an advisor via the live chat feature below
Choose A Section
- What Is Classed As Professional Negligence?
- What Could You Claim For Professional Negligence By Lawyers?
- How Do You Establish Professional Negligence?
- Can You Make A No Win No Fee Professional Negligence Claim?
- Contact Us To Claim For Professional Negligence By Lawyers
- Learn More About Claiming With Professional Negligence Lawyers
What Is Classed As Professional Negligence?
Professionals, including personal injury lawyers, owe a duty of care to their clients to provide services of a correct standard. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) regulate law firms and solicitors in England and Wales and outline a Code of Conduct to be followed by solicitors. This describes the standard of professionalism that they are expected to meet. To give an example, it states that solicitors must perform all undertakings given by them within an agreed time frame or, should no time frame have been agreed upon, then within a reasonable amount of time.
To have an eligible professional negligence claim, there are certain criteria that you must be able to prove is true for your case. This is as follows:
- A professional owed you a duty of care to provide you with services of a reasonable standard.
- They breached this duty of care.
- This breach causes you to suffer losses.
You must consider whether your case is within the relevant limitation period, as you generally have six years to begin a professional negligence claim.
Why May A Case Be Struck Out?
If your case is struck out, it means that it is dismissed. Therefore, you will no longer be able to pursue this claim against the defendant. If your personal injury lawyer failed in their duties to provide services of a reasonable standard and caused your claim to be struck out, it could result in you losing out on compensation that you would’ve been awarded. Below we will provide examples of how your lawyer could cause this:
- Your lawyer failed to follow court instructions.
- Your lawyer failed to meet the deadlines set by the court.
Please speak to a member of our team at Legal Expert to discuss your potential professional negligence claim and enquire about the benefits of using professional negligence lawyers.
What Could You Claim For Professional Negligence By Lawyers?
For a successful professional negligence claim after your personal injury claim was struck out, you could receive compensation in the same way you would have if your initial claim had succeeded.
Therefore, a professional negligence claim could be comprised of up to two types of damages: general and special damages. Firstly, general damages in personal injury claims compensate for the physical and mental pain and suffering resulting from your injuries. Professional negligence lawyers can use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them value general damages.
It is important to note that you could also receive eight percent interest on top of your compensation for each year that has passed since your initial personal injury claim was struck out.
Guideline Compensation Table
| Type of Injury | Severity | Details | Compensation Guideline Brackets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain Damage | Very Severe (a) | Little proof, if any, that there is a meaningful response to the environment, as well as little to no language function. The person will require full-time nursing care. | £282,010 to £403,990 |
| Brain Damage | Moderate (c)(iii) | There will be a small risk of epilepsy, concentration and memory will be affected, the capability to work is reduced, and the person will have very limited dependence on others. | £43,060 to £90,720 |
| Arm Amputation | Loss of One Arm (b)(i) | The arm is amputated at shoulder level. | Not less than £137,160 |
| Foot Injury | Amputation of One Foot (b) | Loss of ankle joint. | £83,960 to £109,650 |
| Hand Injury | Serious Damage to Both of the Hands (b) | Significant loss of hand function and permanent cosmetic disability. | £55,820 to £84,570 |
| Hand Injury | Finger Amputation (m) | Amputation of the little finger. | £8,640 to £12,240 |
| Arm Injury | Permanent and Substantial Disablement (b) | One or both of the person’s forearms are seriously fractured leading to permanent and significant residual disability, which is either cosmetic or functional. | £39,170 to £59,860 |
| Neck Injury | Moderate (b)(i) | Dislocations or fractures causing severe immediate symptoms and which may require spinal fusion. | £24,990 to £38,490 |
| Elbow Injury | Less Severe (b) | The injury will not cause significant disability or require major surgery but it will lead to impairment of function. | £15,650 to £32,010 |
| Back Injury | Moderate (b)(ii) | Injuries to the back that are often encountered. For example, soft tissue injuries that cause exacerbation and/or a prolonged acceleration of a pre-existing back condition. | £12,510 to £27,760 |
Other Forms Of Compensation
You could also be eligible to receive special damages to reimburse you for the monetary losses as you would have been for your personal injury claim. This could include:
- Loss of earnings
- Care costs
- Travel expenses
- Housing adaptations
You must prove these losses using evidence such as payslips, invoices, receipts and travel tickets.
Contact our advisors to find out how much compensation you could be eligible to receive for your potential professional negligence claim.
How Do You Establish Professional Negligence?
To make a professional negligence claim against the law firm that was representing your personal injury case, it is important that you can prove your personal injury lawyer was at fault for your case being struck out. To do this, you could gather the following pieces of evidence:
- Correspondence between you and your personal injury lawyer, such as emails and letters.
- Meeting notes between you and your personal injury lawyer.
- Notes containing your own recollections of advice and conversations between you and your personal injury lawyer.
Also, you must provide evidence to prove that your personal injury claim would have succeeded, this may include witness contact details, CCTV footage and copies of your medical records. Professional negligence lawyers can help to gather evidence.
Contact our team to learn more about the evidence you may be required to obtain.
Can You Make A No Win No Fee Professional Negligence Claim?
Professional negligence lawyers can offer to work on claims under a No Win No Fee agreement. This could involve entering into a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is one type of No Win No Fee arrangement.
A CFA generally entails the following:
- No fees are to be paid upfront or during the ongoing course of your claim for your lawyer’s services.
- No payments are to be made at any time for your lawyer’s services if your professional negligence claim is unsuccessful.
- A successful professional negligence claim means that a lawyer working under a CFA can take a small percentage of the compensation as a success fee. The law caps this amount, and therefore, your lawyer will not overcharge you.
Would you like to learn more about bringing forward a professional negligence claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor? Speak to one of our advisors. Should they find you could be eligible to make a professional negligence claim, they could put you in contact with one of our No Win No Fee professional negligence lawyers.
Contact Us To Claim For Professional Negligence By Lawyers
Please get in contact with a member of our advisory team for insight into whether you may have an eligible claim.
You can:
- Call our helpline on 0800 073 8804
- Claim online by filling out the form on our website
- Speak with an advisor via the live chat feature below
Learn More About Claiming With Professional Negligence Lawyers
For further learning and support, please take a look at more of our guides:
Additionally, explore the following external sources:
- SRA – Information you should expect to receive from your solicitor
- The Ministry of Justice – Pre-Action Protocol for Professional Negligence
- The Law Society – Litigants in person: guidelines for lawyers
Thank you for reading this guide to using professional negligence lawyers. Please get in touch with a member of our team via the contact details provided if you have any remaining questions.
