Examples Of Solicitor Negligence And How To Make A Claim
This guide will give examples of solicitor negligence and look at the eligibility criteria for making a professional negligence claim if your solicitor has provided you with a service that is not of a reasonable standard.
Next, we have used a document called the Judicial College Guidelines, which is often used in personal injury claims when assessing the value of injuries, to create a compensation table. We will also discuss the immense benefits of working with a No Win No Fee solicitor.
At Legal Expert, our advisors are here 24 hours a day, round the clock, to give you free advice. There is no pressure to claim, but we can pass you on to a solicitor if your claim is eligible and you want to begin claiming.
You can contact an advisor by:
- Giving us a call on 0800 073 8804
- Talking to an advisor in the live-chat box
- Filling out the Claim Online Form
Examples Of Solicitor Negligence Claims Guide
Select A Section
- When Could You Claim For Personal Injury Solicitor Negligence
- Examples Of Solicitor Negligence You Could Claim Compensation For
- Examples Of Solicitor Negligence Compensation Payouts
- Make A No Win No Fee Claim With Our Professional Negligence Solicitors
- Talk To Our Professional Negligence Claim Specialists
When Could You Claim For Personal Injury Solicitor Negligence
A personal injury solicitor could cause your case to be unsuccessful if they acted negligently when handling it. A solicitor owes you a duty of care when you become their client. If they breach their duty of care and this results in your claim failing, you may have grounds to claim against them.
To be eligible to make a professional negligence claim against a personal injury solicitor, you need to satisfy three key criteria:
- The solicitor owed you a duty of care
- They failed to provide a reasonable standard of service, therefore, breaching this duty
- And, your claim failed, or you lost out on compensation, or you lost the chance to pursue a claim for compensation.
Our advisors could help you if you have any questions about when you could claim. Contact them today using the details above.
Professional Negligence Claim Limitation Periods
Professional negligence claims have a different time limit than personal injury claims. Generally, you will have 6 years to begin a professional negligence claim. Contact an advisor to find out when this six-year period may have begun.
Examples Of Solicitor Negligence You Could Claim Compensation For
A solicitor can act negligently in different ways when handling a personal injury case.
Professional negligence could occur if your solicitor breaches their duty of care while representing you. This could be because they missed a limitation date or a crucial deadline or handled the claim inappropriately.
Here are some detailed examples of solicitor negligence.
Missing A Limitation Date
When pursuing a personal injury claim, the claim proceedings must be initiated before the limitation date. In personal injury claims, generally, there is a 3-year time limit for when cases must begin. If this time limit is missed, then the case could become statute-barred, and the case will no longer be valid. If your personal injury solicitor misses this date, it could be said that they may have breached their duty of care toward you, their client.
Unexpected Deductions
You might be able to claim against your solicitor if they have taken more money than they said they would at the beginning of the claim or if the charges are excessive.
These issues could become apparent if there have been issues with the No Win No Fee agreement. These issues could also occur because the charges were not sufficiently explained to the claimant before they enlisted the solicitor’s help.
Turning Down A Claim At The Last Minute
Your solicitor could turn down your claim at the last minute before your three-year limitation runs out. This could leave you stranded without the chance to seek new representation before your limitation runs out.
Solicitors could do this because they have forgotten about your case and do not have the time or resources to pursue it. They could also not have retained enough evidence or considered the case deeply enough to begin it properly.
Cases Being Struck Out
If your solicitor fails to abide by the deadlines laid out by the court, this could cause your claim to become struck out. This could mean you lose the chance to pursue your personal injury claim.
Under-Settling Personal Injury Claims
If your solicitor has acted negligently, they might have offered you bad advice about your claim. They could have advised you to settle early when in reality, you could have been awarded more in terms of compensation.
Your solicitor could have also failed to obtain the correct medical evidence. For example, they could fail to consider the worth of psychological injuries and focus only on physical injuries, meaning you lose out on personal injury compensation.
Your solicitor could have also miscalculated your loss of earnings compensation, preventing you from receiving the full amount.
Examples Of Solicitor Negligence Compensation Payouts
Let’s take a look at some examples of solicitor negligence and the compensation payouts that could be awarded.
If you make a successful professional negligence claim against your personal injury solicitor and you have proven that your initial claim would have succeeded in full, you will be compensated in the same way as if the initial case had been won.
This means you would be eligible to receive:
General damages: Compensation for the mental/physical pain and suffering you experienced because of your injury
Special damages: Compensation for out-of-pocket costs you have accrued because of your injury, such as compensation for loss of earnings and travel to medical appointments.
However, you are eligible to claim 8% interest per annum on this compensation.
The figures in the table below are from the Judicial College Guidelines. This is a document our solicitors use to value claims for general damages. The figures in the table are not guaranteed.
| Injury | Severity | Guideline compensation bracket | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amputation of arms | Loss of both arms (a) | £240,790 to £300,000 | A person is reduced to considerable helplessness. |
| Amputation of arms | Loss of one arm (b) (i) | Not less than £137,160 | Arm amputated at the shoulder. |
| Injuries to hips and pelvis | Severe (a) (i) | £78,400 to £130,930 | The pelvis is extensively fractured and will cause residual disabilities. |
| Injuries to hips and pelvis | Moderate (b) (i) | £26,590 to £39,170 | A significant injury to pelvis or hips with no great future risk of disability. |
| Neck injury | Severe (a) (iii) | £45,470 to £55,990 |
These injuries cause fractures or dislocations leading to chronic conditions and significant permanent disability. |
| Neck injury | Moderate (b) (iii) | £7,890 to £13,740 |
Such injuries accelerate pre-existing conditions over a short period of time. This also encompasses soft tissue injuries. |
| Back injury | Severe (a) (iii) | £38,780 to £69,730 | These are cases of injuries leading to chronic conditions where despite treatment disabilities remain. |
| Back injury | Moderate (b) (ii) | £12,510 to £27,760 | This bracket contains many frequently encountered injuries to the back. These include disturbance of ligaments, soft tissue injuries, prolapsed discs, etc. |
| Shoulder injury | Severe (a) | £19,200 to £48,030 | This bracket is often associated with neck injuries which involve damage to the brachial plexus, which results in serious disability. |
| Shoulder injury | Moderate (c) | £7,890 to £12,770 | A frozen shoulder causing limitation of movement and discomfort. Symptoms will persist for about two years. |
Make A No Win No Fee Claim With Our Professional Negligence Solicitors
Call our advisors today to have your case assessed for solicitor negligence. If you have an eligible professional negligence claim, they could connect you to a solicitor who might be able to offer you a kind of No Win No Fee Agreement known as a Conditional Fee Agreement.
In general, under the terms of this kind of agreement:
- You will not have to pay your solicitor any initial fees to enlist their services.
- As your case continues, you don’t have to pay ongoing fees to your solicitor.
- If your case is unsuccessful, you will not need to pay your solicitor for their work on your case.
- Should your case succeed, you will owe your solicitor a success fee. This is limited by The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013.
Get In Touch To Make A Professional Negligence Claim
Our advisors are here to help you with your claim, day or night, 7 days a week. They can give you free advice and connect you to a solicitor if your claim is eligible.
You can contact an advisor by:
- Giving us a call on 0800 073 8804
- Talking to an advisor in the live-chat box
- Filling out the Claim Online Form
Talk To Our Professional Negligence Claim Specialists
More of our own professional negligence claim guides:
My Solicitor Let My Personal Injury Claim Expire – What Are My Legal Rights?
Can I Claim Compensation If My Solicitor Missed Limitation In My Medical Negligence Claim?
How Much Compensation Can I Claim For A Solicitor’s Negligence?
Useful external links:
Common legal issues | The Law Society
SRA | Solicitors Register | Solicitors Regulation Authority
Litigants in person: guidelines for lawyers | The Law Society
We hope these examples of solicitor negligence have helped give you a clearer picture of whether your case is eligible.
