If you are wondering, ‘how do I sue a solicitor for negligence?’, this guide may help. It will provide you with information about the eligibility criteria that must be met in order to make a professional negligence claim against a solicitor handling personal injury claims.
How Do I Sue A Solicitor For Negligence?
Professionals, including solicitors, owe their clients a duty of care to provide the correct standard of service. If a solicitor breaches this duty while working on your case, this could result in you suffering a loss of chance. This refers to the loss of opportunity to pursue part or all of your claim. We provide examples of how solicitor negligence could occur throughout our guide.
Additionally, we provide information on the compensation that could be awarded following a successful professional negligence claim against a solicitor.
Should you meet the requirements to seek compensation, you may wish to have the support of a No Win No Fee professional negligence solicitor. We bring the guide to a conclusion by looking at the benefits of having legal representation under a No Win No Fee agreement.
If you have any questions about what to do if your solicitor’s negligence resulted in a loss of chance, contact one of the advisors from our team.
To speak to an advisor:
- Call 0161 696 9685
- Contact us online.
- Ask your question in our live webchat.
Select A Section
- When Am I Eligible To Claim For Professional Negligence By A Personal Injury Solicitor?
- How Do I Sue A Solicitor For Negligence?
- Professional Negligence Examples – How Could My Solicitor Be Negligent?
- Potential Compensation For Professional Negligence By A Personal Injury Solicitor
- Use No Win No Fee Professional Negligence Solicitors To Claim
- Learn More About How To Sue A Solicitor For Negligence
When Am I Eligible To Claim For Professional Negligence By A Personal Injury Solicitor?
If you would like to pursue a claim against a solicitor for professional negligence, you will need evidence that demonstrates you were owed a duty of care and this was breached by failing to provide you with services that met the correct standard, and as a result of this, you experienced a loss.
The professional standards solicitors are expected to follow come from a Code of Conduct outlined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). If your solicitor has not adhered to these standards, it may not necessarily be considered professional negligence. However, you can still make a complaint to the SRA which regulates solicitors and lawyers in England and Wales.
To discuss your question, ‘how do I sue a solicitor for negligence’, please get in touch with an advisor. If you have valid grounds for a claim, they can help you get started.
How Do I Sue A Solicitor For Negligence?
When you make a compensation claim for professional negligence against a solicitor, you will need to prove that your personal injury claim would have had at least a 51% chance of succeeding if it weren’t for your solicitor breaching the duty of care they owed you. As such, you could benefit from gathering witness contact details, copies of your medical records and accident footage.
Other examples of evidence that could be useful in your claim against a solicitor include:
- Any notes from meetings between you and the solicitor.
- Correspondence between you and the solicitor, such as emails and letters.
- Notes or diary entries with your own recollections of advice and conversations between you and the solicitor.
What Is The Professional Negligence Claim Time Limit?
In addition to having sufficient evidence that you meet the eligibility criteria, you must start the legal process before the time limit expires. This is generally six years when claiming for professional negligence as set by the Limitation Act 1980.
For more information about limitations or what evidence is needed in professional negligence claims, talk to one of our advisors.
Professional Negligence Examples – How Could My Solicitor Be Negligent?
As we previously discussed, it is expected that a solicitor’s services meet the correct standard. Should they fail to meet these standards, you may experience a loss of chance, or the loss of the opportunity to pursue either part or all of your initial claim.
Here are a few examples of solicitor negligence in personal injury claims:
- Under-settling your claim. For example, by forgetting to include your loss of earnings when you gave them clear evidence of this financial loss. Alternatively, they may not have considered the proof you gave them of a psychological injury and instead only considered your physical pain and injuries.
- Missed the limitation date. Personal injury claims typically have a time limit of three years to begin the case. Should this expire, your claim becomes statute-barred and you will be unable to pursue it.
- Fail to adhere to court-set deadlines or instructions. This could result in your case becoming struck out, meaning you’re no longer able to continue with all or part your claim.
To discuss your specific case and find out ‘how do I sue a solicitor for negligence?’, please contact one of our advisors. The advice they give is free and they can talk about the circumstances surrounding your potential claim.
Potential Compensation For Professional Negligence By A Personal Injury Solicitor
If your case for professional negligence against your solicitor is successful, your settlement will be calculated in a similar way to those awarded for successful personal injury claims. This means that you could receive general and special damages. In addition, you can receive up to 8% interest for each year that has passed.
General damages compensate for the physical pain and mental suffering caused by the injury; whereas special damages compensate for the financial losses caused by the injury.
Legal professionals refer to a document titled the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which lists compensation brackets for injuries, as guidance when valuing claims. Our table below includes a few examples from the 16th edition. However, it is only to be used as guidance.
Compensation Table
| Type of Injury and Severity | Notes | Compensation Brackets - Guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Arm Injuries | The injuries found in this bracket are extremely serious and leave the claimant little better off than if the arm had been amputated. | £96,160 to £130,930 |
| Hand Injuries - Serious Damage To Both Hands | Injuries causing significant function loss and permanent cosmetic disability. | £55,820 to £84,570 |
| Severe Foot Injuries | This bracket includes fractures of both heels causing substantial mobility restrictions and permanent pain or an unusually severe injury to a single foot. | £41,970 to £70,030 |
| Very Severe Ankle Injuries | The injuries in this bracket are limited and unusual, such as deformity from a transmalleolar fracture with extensive tissue damage. | £50,060 to £69,700 |
| Severe Neck Injuries (iii) | The claimant has suffered fractures, dislocations, severe soft tissue damage or ruptured tendons causing a permanent significant disability. | £45,470 to £55,990 |
| Less Severe Brain Damage | In this bracket, the claimant has made a good recovery but not all normal functions have been restored, such as continuing problems with memory. | £15,320 to £43,060 |
| Severe Leg Injuries - Moderate (iv) | Found in this bracket are complicated or multiple fractures to a single limb and severe crushing injuries. | £27,760 to £39,200 |
| Moderate Back Injuries (ii) | This bracket includes many frequently encountered back injuries, such as ligament and muscle disturbance. | £12,510 to £27,760 |
| Moderate Shoulder Injuries | The claimant suffers with movement limitations and discomfort for about two years, or soft tissue injuries with more than minimal symptoms that last longer, although not permanently. | £7,890 to £12,770 |
Special Damages
Under special damages, you could be compensated for the financial losses caused by the injury. For example:
- Loss of earnings for time off work to recover from your injuries.
- Medical expenses, which could include therapy, physiotherapy and prescriptions.
If you would like a free valuation of your potential compensation for professional negligence, contact one of our advisors.
Use No Win No Fee Professional Negligence Solicitors To Claim
If you are eligible to seek compensation for professional negligence, you may like to have the support of a solicitor. One of the professional negligence solicitors from our panel could help. They could offer to work on your claim on a No Win No Fee basis under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Under this type of agreement, your solicitor typically won’t ask you to pay any upfront or ongoing fees for their services. Furthermore, you won’t be asked to pay for their work on your case following an unsuccessful claim.
If your claim outcome is successful, a success fee will be deducted from your award. The percentage that can be taken as this fee is legally limited.
If you have any further questions related to ‘how do I sue a solicitor for negligence?’ get in touch with one of our advisors. One of the advisors from our team can also check the eligibility of your claim and if they find your case is valid, you could be passed onto a solicitor from our panel.
To discuss professional negligence and find out if you have a claim:
- Call 0161 696 9685
- Contact us online.
- Ask your question in our live webchat.
Learn More About How To Sue A Solicitor For Negligence
Additional guides that you might find useful:
- Learn if you could claim after your solicitor let your personal injury claim expire.
- Find examples of professional negligence in our helpful guide.
- Read about claiming against a solicitor who impacted your personal injury claim.
A few external links that could help you:
- SRA – Legal Jargon
- The Law Society – Common Legal Issues
- Ministry of Justice – Pre-Action Protocols for Professional Negligence
If you need any more help or information regarding your question, ‘how do I sue a solicitor for negligence?’ please get in touch.
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