Professional negligence: a quick introduction

When you hire a professional such as a solicitor, surveyor, accountant or architect, you expect them to work with reasonable care and skill. Most of the time this happens, but sometimes things go wrong.

If a professional gives poor advice or service and you suffer financial loss as a result, you may have a claim for professional negligence.

This guide explains what professional negligence is and what you need to show before bringing a claim.

What is professional negligence?

Professional negligence happens when a professional person fails to meet the standard you would reasonably expect from someone in their position and you suffer loss because of it.

Although this usually stems from a contract between you and the professional, claims can also arise from duties set by law or from the professional relationship itself. In some cases, even someone who wasn’t the professional’s client may be able to bring a claim if they were affected by their poor work.

Examples of professional negligence

Different professionals owe different duties, so negligence can arise in many ways. Common examples include:

Legal professionals

• Giving incorrect legal advice
• Missing important deadlines such as court dates or limitation periods
• Failing to identify or use key evidence.

Conveyancers

• Not spotting property defects
• Breaching confidentiality or professional conduct rules.

Financial advisers and accountants

• Giving incorrect financial or tax advice
• Missing liabilities or opportunities for tax relief.

Surveyors

• Providing inaccurate property valuations
• Failing to identify hidden (latent) defects.

Architects

• Producing designs that lead to construction problems.

What do you need to prove?

To bring a successful professional negligence claim, you must show all of the following:

1. A duty of care was owed to you. This is usually set out in a contract or retainer but sometimes implied by law or by the nature of the relationship
2. The professional breached that duty. In other words, they didn’t act with the level of skill or care expected of a reasonably competent professional in their field
3. The breach caused your loss. There must be a direct link between what the professional did wrong and the financial loss you suffered
4. The loss is recoverable. For example, it must be reasonably foreseeable and not too remote.

Sometimes you may need an independent expert to examine what the professional did and give an opinion on whether the standard of care was met. This is often essential in negligence cases, especially when technical or specialist advice is involved.

Conclusion

Professional negligence can occur in many different situations and working out whether you have a valid claim isn’t always straightforward. Getting early legal advice can help you assess whether negligence has taken place, the strength of your claim and what steps to take next.