This guide examines the eligibility criteria to begin a professional negligence claim against a personal injury or medical negligence solicitor for acting without proper authority or consent from clients. We will provide information on the duty of care owed by solicitors to their clients, and how acting without the client’s authority could amount to a breach of this duty, resulting in a loss of chance.
In this guide, you will find details of the possible supporting evidence you could collect for your claim, as well as information on how compensation in professional negligence claims is calculated.
The penultimate section of this guide offers guidance on the benefits of working with a professional negligence specialist from our panel of solicitors, under the specific type of No Win No Fee contract that they offer.
A Guide To Solicitor Negligence Claims For Acting Without Proper Authority Or Consent From Clients
You can contact our experienced team of advisors to ask further questions regarding the claims process. Our team can also assess the validity of your potential claim free of charge. You can speak to a team member via the following contact details.
- Call on 0161 696 9685
- Complete our ‘Contact Us’ form online.
- Use the live chatbox on the screen for a quick response to your questions.
Select A Section
- When Can You Make A Professional Negligence Claim Against A Solicitor?
- Can You Claim Against A Solicitor For Acting Without Proper Authority Or Consent From Clients?
- How Can You Prove A Solicitor Was Acting Without Proper Authority Or Consent From Clients?
- Compensation For Professional Negligence Against A Personal Injury Solicitor
- The Benefits Of Making A No Win No Fee Claim
- Learn More About How To Sue Solicitors For Professional Negligence
When Can You Make A Professional Negligence Claim Against A Solicitor?
Professional negligence claims against personal injury, or medical negligence solicitors often arise when a client losses the chance to pursue part or all of their claim due to the solicitor failing to provide their services at the correct standard. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the professional regulator for solicitors and law firms in England and Wales, imposes strict standards of professional conduct. Solicitors are therefore expected to meet the professional standards established by the SRA Code of Conduct when providing legal services to clients. If they do not adhere to these standards of professionalism, this does not automatically mean they have breached their duty of care.
To begin a professional negligence claim against a solicitor for acting without proper authority or consent, you will need to demonstrate the following:
- The solicitor owed a duty of care to provide their services at the correct standard to you.
- The solicitor breached this duty through their failure to meet this standard.
- Because of this breach, you experienced a loss of chance.
A loss of chance means you lost the opportunity to pursue your claim or part of it because of the negligent action. It needs to be demonstrated that you would not have experienced this loss had the solicitor provided their services at the correct standard and that on the balance of probability, your claim or a part of it would have succeeded in order to make a professional negligence claim.
Time Limits When Claiming Against A Solicitor For Acting Without Proper Authority Or Consent From Clients
In most cases, a limitation period of 6 years applies when making a professional negligence claim. What this means is you will generally have 6 years to start a claim.
Can You Claim Against A Solicitor For Acting Without Proper Authority Or Consent From Clients?
Below we explore some of the ways in which a solicitor could act without proper authority or consent from clients. It is important to note that not every instance of a duty of care being breached is negligence. Here are some examples of where a personal injury or medical negligence solicitor could act without your consent:
- Agrees to a compensation amount without your authority. This could result in your case being under-settled, where you receive compensation less than what you were entitled to.
- Undertakes actions or co-signs documents without your permission.
- Confirm your medical report is correct without you agreeing first.
- Signs to complete the case with the third party when you have not authorised this.
This list is non-exhaustive, so if you do not see your particular circumstances given here, contact our team today. They can offer a no-cost assessment of your potential claim.
How Can You Prove A Solicitor Was Acting Without Proper Authority Or Consent From Clients?
A professional negligence claim against a solicitor for acting without proper authority or consent from clients requires supporting evidence. Some possible evidence you could collect is detailed here:
- Communication between you and the solicitor regarding your initial personal injury claim.
- Any notes taken during meetings with the solicitor.
- The email or letter explaining why your claim ended.
- The original case file.
It is likewise necessary to show that, on the balance of probabilities, the initial personal injury claim would have been a success had the solicitor not acted without your authority. This could include:
- Medical documentation, such as copies of any scans, to highlight the extent of your injuries.
- Any CCTV or dashcam footage showing the accident taking place.
- You can acquire a copy of your incident report from the workplace accident book.
- Any potential witnesses could give a statement detailing how the accident took place. Take down their contact information so their statements can be taken during the claims process.
Our team of advisors can provide further guidance on the evidence you can collect to support your professional negligence claim. Speak to a member of our team using the contact information provided below.
Compensation For Professional Negligence Claims Against Personal Injury Solicitors
The goal of professional negligence compensation is to restore you to a position you would be in had the negligent action not occurred. This means you could therefore be awarded the compensation you would have received upon the success of your initial claim.
As personal injury compensation is awarded under two different heads of claim, namely general and special damages, your professional negligence compensation can reflect that. General damages awards for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries. To calculate a possible value for general damages, solicitors can refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document, published by the Judicial College, contains guideline award brackets for an array of different injuries. We have taken a selection of these brackets for use in the table below.
Compensation table
It is important we emphasise this table has been provided to offer guidance only. You could also receive interest at 8% per annum to account for the interest that would have accrued had your initial personal injury claim succeeded.
Injury How Severe? Guideline Amount Notes
Brain Damage (c) Moderate (i) £150,110 to £219,070 Moderate to severe deficit on intellect. Impact on the senses, speech patterns and a significant epilepsy risk. No employment prospects.
Arm (a) Severe £96,160 to £130,930 Injuries in this bracket, although falling short of amputation, are extremely serious and leave the injured person little better off than had the arm been amputated.
Knee (a) Severe (i) £69,730 to £96,210 Disruption of the joint, serious ligament damage, development of osteoarthritis and considerable pain and functional impairment.
Neck (a) Severe (iii) £45,470 to £55,990 Dislocations, soft tissue damage or ruptured tendons and lead to chronic conditions and permanent disabilities.
Pelvis (b) Moderate (i) £26,590 to £39,170 A significant injury but no major permanent disabilities or future risk.
Leg (c) Less Serious Leg Injuries (i) £17,960 to £27,760 Fractures or soft tissue injuries that see an incomplete level of recovery.
Ankle (c) Moderate £13,740 to £26,590 Ligament tears or fractures that prompt difficulty walking or standing and create awkwardness on stairs. A future risk of arthritis is indicated.
Wrist (c) Less Severe £12,590 to £24,500 Injuries that cause some permanent disability, for example persisting pain and stiffness.
Back (b) Moderate (ii) £12,510 to £27,760 Awards in this bracket depend on the initial severity and level of pain experienced as well as the extend of treatment needed.
Shoulder (c) Moderate £7,890 to £12,770 This award bracket looks at issues such as frozen shoulder and general discomfort or loss of function which persists for approximately 24 months.
Special Damages
The second of the two heads of claim that can comprise a compensation payout is called special damages. Costs incurred from your injuries can be reimbursed under special damages, some possible examples are:
- Lost income.
- Transport to and from work.
- Domestic care.
- Adaptations to the home.
You will need to provide supporting evidence in order to claim special damages. Retain copies of your payslips, receipts, invoices and other bills as proof of financial losses. For a more detailed estimate of the value of your potential claim, speak to one of our advisors today.
The Benefits Of Making A No Win No Fee Claim
Our advisors can assess the validity of your potential claim at no cost. You could then be connected with a professional negligence specialist from our panel of solicitors. Our panel can offer their services under a particular type of No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
You will not pay any fees upfront for the solicitor to commence working on your claim. There will also be no fees for this work during the claims process itself. Finally, you will not pay for the solicitor’s services if the claim fails.
In the event of the claim’s success, however, you will receive compensation. The solicitor will take a percentage of this compensation as their success fee. By law, the success fee percentage is capped, and therefore, you will keep most of any awarded compensation.
You can contact our experienced team of advisors to ask further questions regarding the claims process. Our team can also assess the validity of your potential claim free of charge. You can speak to a team member via the following contact details.
- Call on 0161 696 9685
- Complete our ‘Contact Us’ form online.
- Use the live chatbox on the screen for a quick response to your questions.
Learn More About How To Sue Solicitors For Professional Negligence
See some of our professional negligence claim guides here:
- See our guide for more examples of professional negligence claims against a solicitor.
- Find out more about making a professional negligence claim if your solicitor missed the limitation date.
- Learn about what you can do if your solicitor forgot to include loss of earnings.
Some external resources you may find useful:
- The SRA has published this guidance on making a complaint about a solicitor’s conduct.
- Read the government webpage on how to complain about a legal advisor here.
- Finally, you can find out more about the Legal Ombudsman and what they do via this resource.
Thank you for reading our guide on starting a professional negligence claim against a solicitor for acting without proper authority or consent from clients. Our team can offer further guidance, as well as offer a cost-free, zero-obligation assessment of your claim’s validity. You can reach our team via any of the contact details given above.