Not everything can go right. No matter how experienced or qualified a professional person is, there is always an occasion when things go wrong and the client suffers a loss.

Such occasions can be traumatic. There is a loss of trust and confidence, not only with the professional who handled the matter but with that profession generally.

In those circumstances, what is needed is a person who is experienced in handling such claims, a person who will help to rebuild the trust and confidence that have been damaged. We believe that our team are people in whom you can place such confidence. We have been recognised by the Legal Profession as being experts in our field.

What Do We Do?

We first undertake an assessment of the claim and provide you with an Assessment Report. That report gives advice on four important questions:

1. Liability
We review the facts and the papers and on the basis of those facts, advise you if we consider that there has been a breach of duty by your professional adviser. That means, have things gone wrong because the professional has carried out an act or has failed to carry out an obligation which he owed to you? If there has been no breach of duty, or if no duty was owed in the first place, there has been no negligent act.

2. Causation
Has the breach of duty caused the loss which you have suffered? The negligent act must have been the cause of the loss suffered. If it is not then there can be no claim. It is therefore important to analyse the loss and to confirm that it has been caused by the negligence that has been identified. Often this is the most difficult and important question to be answered.

3. Quantum
This is the value of the loss that can be recovered. It is important to identify the value of the loss and to consider if it can legally be recovered from the professional. Not all loss is so recoverable. Legally the loss may need to be calculated by reference to a particular formula. It is therefore important to assess how much can be recovered so that a proper assessment can be made as to whether or not it is worthwhile taking proceedings.

4. Costs and Recovery
It is important to know how much needs to be invested in payment of costs in order to recover the loss suffered. It is not reasonable to invest £5,000 to recover damages of £4,000. The report will identify the costs that would need to be invested and explain to you the Court rules in regard to recovery of costs from the professional. Further, we will consider how any Order obtained against the professional can be enforced. It is pointless to incur costs obtaining a judgment only to find that the professional does not have the money to meet the judgment and costs.

The Assessment Report will provide the information which you need to decide if you ought to pursue your claim. Upon receipt of your instructions and papers we will provide you with an estimate of the costs of the Assessment Report before undertaking the work.

What Do You Do Next?

Please contact a member of our team. In order to prepare the Assessmant Report we will need:

a) a written statement from you of what has happened and how you consider that you have suffered loss;

b) copies of the documents you have and authority to obtain your file from the professional;

c) copies of any report or letter which confirm the negligence and the loss suffered.

© Thomson Snell & Passmore 2004. All Rights Reserved.
Thomson Snell & Passmore is regulated by The Law Society.

Has your solicitor been negligent?
Whilst we believe that most solicitors adhere to the same high standards that we do, we know that there are cases where clients suffer a loss at the hands of negligent or even dishonest lawyers.
We are the only specialist claimant solicitors who practice in London with a team dealing solely with solicitors' negligence and other professional negligence claims. Our team of solicitors is exclusively dedicated to suing negligent lawyers and other professionals including solicitors, barristers, accountants, architects, surveyors, valuers, estate agents, financial advisers, banks and insurance brokers.

We also advise and act for clients who wish to challenge their lawyers' bills.

Bolt Burdon Kemp Solicitors

Professional negligence

Solicitors here advise on and conduct professional negligence claims that is to say actions for damages for negligence against bankers, architects, surveyors, estate agents, solicitors, accountants, brokers, patent agents, trade mark agents, barristers, financial advisers, doctors, other healthcare professionals, auditors, auctioneers, actuaries, computer consultants and any other adviser whose advice complained of was given in a professional capacity.

"We live in a society which is increasingly inclined to look for someone to blame when things go wrong. Instant access to information, higher standards of living and a less fatalistic approach to life are just a few of the factors which have contributed to a fundamental shift in attitudes over the past 30 years. Times have changed... Ultimately, the task of the courts in determining the limits of professional liability is that of holding the ring between competing interests. Society needs professionals [but it also] needs them to be accountable to their clients" (Mark Simpson.) Negligence claims (general)

Solicitors here conduct the pursuit and defence of claims for negligence. The requirements for making a successful claim in negligence are:

1. the existence in law of a duty of care situation (i.e one in which the law attaches liability to carelessness); there has to be recognition by law that the careless infliction of the kind of damage complained of on the class of person to which the claimant belongs by the class of person to which the defendant belongs is actionable;

2. breach of the duty of care by the defendant (ie. that the conduct complained of fails to measure up to the standard set by law);

3. a causal connection between the defendant's careless conduct and the damage;

4. that the particular kind of damage to the particular claimant is not so unforeseeable as to be too remote.

When these 4 requirements are satisfied, the defendant is liable in negligence. Only then is it relevant to consider the assessment of damages (i.e. the compensation for the damage for which the defendant is responsible).

Liability for negligence can overlap with other bases of civil claim: for example, nuisance, libel, breach of statutory duty, deceit, trespass, unlawful interference with contract and unfair competition.

Our solicitors are experienced in and have the resources to undertake litigation and arbitration in relation to claims for damages for negligence in most commercial circumstances.

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