What is professional negligence?
Professional negligence is a branch of civil law concerning breaches of the duty of care owed by professionals to their clients – and others they deal with. The duty is sometimes set out in a written contract between the parties (a retainer agreement, perhaps); otherwise, it is enshrined in the common law and various statutes.
Loss due to professional negligence
We can assist you if you think that a professional who advised you or provided services to you has done the wrong thing and, as a result, you have suffered a loss.
Duties owed by professionals
This is a complex area of law that sometimes involves duties owed in both contract and tort (civil wrong).
Some Acts of Parliament set out details of the duties owed by certain groups of professionals and also provide remedies for breaches of those duties and/or failure to observe the requisite standards of professional practice.
In some cases, there is legislation which requires certain professionals to hold a defined level of professional indemnity insurance before they are permitted to practice and offer their services to members of the public. This is to protect consumers as it usually means any claim is met by the professional person’s insurer.
Claims against professionals
Over the years, we have acted in cases of professional negligence involving:
- Accountants
- Auditors
- Architects
- Builders
- Banks
- Financial planners
- Insurance brokers
- Legal practitioners
- Stockbrokers
- Valuers
- Veterinary surgeons
Having worked in this area for decades, we can get to the problem quickly and advise whether you have a claim or not and, if so, what has to be done to pursue that claim.
If you are concerned about something that has happened to you involving a professional, ring or email for an appointment with Debra Lane.
