What Is The Professional Negligence Limitation Period?
In this guide, we’ll be explaining the limitation period for professional negligence claims against a solicitor. Various kinds of professionals are required to provide services of a particular standard, including personal injury solicitors. In the case that this standard is not met, causing you to incur a loss, you could be eligible to make a claim.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the main regulatory body for solicitors and law firms. They lay out the expected standards that solicitors should meet. Further in this guide, we’ll be exploring how a solicitor failing to adhere to these standards could lead to them missing the limitation period as a result of professional negligence. We will also look at how much a professional negligence claim against a personal injury solicitor could be worth, and how a No Win No Fee agreement could benefit you.
If you’d like to learn more about this, then you can do so by using the following details to discuss this further with our team of advisors. They can provide you with free advice pertaining to your claim, and they could connect you with a solicitor if they feel your claim is valid.
Contact us by:
- Entering your details into the contact us section of our website
- Calling us on 0800 073 8804
- Talking to one of our advisors by using the live chat feature in the corner of our website
What Is The Limitation Period For Professional Negligence Claims Against Personal Injury Solicitors?
Select A Section
- What Is The Limitation Period For Professional Negligence Claims Against Personal Injury Solicitors
- Criteria To Make A Professional Negligence Claim Against a Solicitor
- What Can I Do If My Solicitor Missed The Personal Injury Limitation Period?
- Calculating Compensation For Professional Negligence Claims Against A Personal Injury Solicitor?
- Why Contact Our Team About Claiming On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- Find Out More About The Limitation Period For Professional Negligence
What Is The Limitation Period For Professional Negligence?
The professional negligence claims time limit is generally 6 years. This is outlined in The Limitation Act 1980.
This time limit could begin from the point in time that your loss crystalises. For example, in a missed limitation case, this could run from the date that the claim has become time-barred.
There can be exceptions to the 6-year time limit. For instance, it can vary in the following scenarios:
- When the claimant is under 18. The time limit is suspended until they come of age.
- When the claimant lacks the mental capacity to claim. The time limit is suspended indefinitely unless the injured person regains the required mental capacity.
In both of these cases. a litigation friend could claim on behalf of someone who can’t do this themselves. To find out about the time limit that could apply to your case, speak with a member of our team today.
Criteria To Make A Professional Negligence Claim
In order for you to make a professional negligence claim against a personal injury solicitor, you will have to satisfy the following criteria:
- You were owed a duty of care by a personal injury solicitor
- This duty of care was breached
- You suffered a loss because of this breach
You may not be able to make a professional negligence claim against a personal injury solicitor if you cannot show that your initial claim would have been a success but for the negligence of your legal representative.
Below are some examples of how a personal injury solicitor’s conduct could affect the success of your claim:
- Your lawyer advises you to accept a settlement offer that is too low
- Your solicitor failed to consider a portion of your settlement, such as care costs or loss of earnings
- Because your solicitor failed to follow instructions laid out by the court, your claim is penalised
- Your lawyer missed the limitation period, allowing the claim to expire
- Your solicitor fails to adequately prepare your case and turn it down close to the limitation period. This means you can’t then seek alternative legal representation
If you would like to find out whether you have a valid claim, including whether you are within the limitation period for professional negligence claims, speak with a member of our team today.
What Can I Do If My Solicitor Missed The Personal Injury Limitation Period?
Proving professional negligence is an important element of any claimof this nature. You should provide evidence of your solicitor’s negligence and also evidence that shows that your original claim would have been a success.
For example, evidence of your initial claim could include CCTV footage showing the incident, photographs of your injuries and of the scene and copies of your medical records. This can help to demonstrate that your claim would have been a success and can help your solicitor determine how much the claim would have been worth.
This could come in the form of correspondence between you and your lawyer; for example, they may have admitted to you that they made an error in representing you. If this is the case, you could use this as evidence.
They may not have admitted the error that led to the claim failing. However, you could still provide records of correspondence between you and your solicitor as they might show that your lawyer should have acted differently in a way that would have impacted the outcome of your claim.
Get in touch with our team for free advice about claiming. You could be connected with a lawyer from our panel.
To find out more about suing a solicitor for negligence, head here
How Much Compensation For Professional Negligence Could I Claim?
The aim of a professional negligence claim is to restore you to the position that you would have been in, provided that the professional had upheld the duty of care that they owed to you. Therefore, if you make a successful professional negligence claim against a negligent personal injury solicitor, you could be awarded general and special damages.
These two heads of claim aim to address the different ways that you’ve been affected by your original injuries:
- General damages aim to compensate you for the pain you have suffered as a result of your injury.
- Special damages aim to reimburse you for the financial harm you have incurred as a result of your injury. For example, you could be compensated for the money that you had spent on professional care.
In addition to these heads of claim, you could also receive 8% interest for every year that has passed since the initial claim and you being awarded compensation for professional negligence.
When valuing personal injury claims, solicitors can use the Judicial College Guidelines to assist them. We have used these figures in the table below.
Compensation Table
| Injury | Severity | Compensation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain and Head Injury | Moderately Severe | £219,070 to £282,010 | Injured person will be left with a substantial dependence on others. They will require round-the-clock care. |
| Neck Injury | Severe (a) (i) | In the region of £148,330 | Neck injury that’s often associated with incomplete paraplegia. Injured person will have little to no movement left in their neck and other symptoms such as headaches. |
| Leg Injuries | The most serious injuries short of amputation (b) (i) | £96,250 to £135,920 | Injuries so severe that damages awarded are at a similar level to if the leg was lost. |
| Knee Injuries | Severe (a) (i) | £69,730 to £96,210 | Including disruption of the joint, the development of arthritis, lengthy treatment, pain, and loss of function. |
| Injuries to the Pelvis and Hips | Severe (a) (iii) | £39,170 to £52,500 | Injuries that lead to degenerative changes, and leg instability. There is a likelihood of hip replacement in the future. |
| Arm Injuries | Less Severe Injury (c) | £19,200 to £39,170 | Whilst there may have been severe disabilities at the outset, a substantial degree of recovery has taken place. |
| Injuries to the Elbow | Less Severe Injuries (b) | £15,650 to £32,010 | Injuries that result in impaired function, but not involving major surgery. |
| Ankle Injuries | Modest Injuries (d) | Up to £13,740 | Less serious, minor or undisplaced fractures, sprains and ligamentous injuries. |
| Achilles Tendon | Minor (d) | £7,270 to £12,590 | A turning of the ankle that results in some damage, and a feeling of uncertainty in the support of this joint. |
| Wrist Injuries | (e) Uncomplicated | In the region of £7,430 | An uncomplicated Colles’ fracture. |
Note that these figures cannot be guaranteed due to the fact that each claim has to be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
For guidance on the limitation period for professional negligence claims, speak with a member of our team today.
Why Contact Our Team About Claiming On A No Win No Fee Basis?
Providing that you have a valid claim, you could choose to make your professional negligence claim with one of the solicitors from our panel. They could offer you an agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) which is a type of No Win No Fee Agreement.
Working with a solicitor under a CFA means that you won’t typically be expected to pay any upfront or continuous fees for your representation. As well as this, in the case that you’re unsuccessful in your claim, you won’t have to pay anything for the services they have provided.
If you’re awarded compensation, you’ll have to pay a success fee. This percentage is legally capped, and the total is discussed between you and your solicitor before you begin receiving any legal representation. They will also deduct it from your settlement before you get it, meaning you don’t have to worry about paying them.
Find Out More About The Limitation Period For Professional Negligence
You can contact us for a free consultation anytime to discuss your potential claim in more detail with our team of advisors. On providing that this is valid, our team of experienced solicitors can provide you with legal representation that can be helpful when making a claim.
Contact us by:
- Entering your details into the contact us section of our website
- Calling us on 0800 073 8804
- Talking to one of our advisors by using the live chat feature in the corner of this page
Find Out More About Making A Claim For Professional Negligence
We hope that you have found this guide on the limitation period for professional negligence claims useful. You can read more of our guides below:
- Can professional negligence lawyers help if my case is struck out?
- Examples of professional negligence
- Missed limitation in a road traffic accident claim
Alternatively, you can use the following links to learn more:
- What to expect when using legal services- SRA
- Make a complaint with us – SRA
- Pre-action protocols for professional negligence
Written by Pownall
Edited by Stocks
