Has your personal injury claim been struck out by the court because your solicitor was negligent? Professional negligence on the part of your solicitor may have led to your personal injury or medical negligence claim being struck out by the court for different reasons. If so, this article explains how you could be eligible to seek damages from the solicitor at fault.
We look at examples of professional negligence that can cause a client to suffer loss when solicitors fail to meet the expected standards. We will discuss the potential compensation that can apply if your professional negligence claim against a personal injury solicitor is successful. As well as look at some of the ways that a member from our panel of professional negligence solicitors could help you with your claim on a No Win No Fee basis.
A Guide To Claiming After Your Personal Injury Claim Was Struck Out
To access a free assessment of eligibility for your professional negligence compensation claim, start by contacting our advisors at the contact details below. They are available 24/7 to offer advice and information on the claim procedure and explain what your options could be:
- Speak in person to our advisors on 0161 696 9685
- Contact us to get a callback
- Use our feature for live chat below if your claim was struck out.
Jump To A Section
- When Can I Claim For Professional Negligence Against A Solicitor?
- Claiming Against A Solicitor If Your Personal Injury Claim Was Struck Out
- Professional Negligence Claim Time Limit
- Compensation For Professional Negligence Claims Against A Solicitor
- Has Your Claim Been Struck Out? – Contact Us For Free To See If You Can Make A No Win No Fee Claim
- Learn More About How To Claim Against A Solicitor For Professional Negligence
When Can I Claim For Professional Negligence Against A Solicitor?
Solicitors, like all professionals, owe their customers and clients a duty of care to provide a service that is considered at a level of reasonable care and skill. If a personal injury solicitor was to fail to provide this duty of care to a client, it may lead to them losing their chance to pursue their case or part of it. Furthermore, the solicitor could become liable if the client suffers losses.
To be eligible to make a professional negligence claim against a personal injury solicitor, you would need to satisfy the following criteria:
- The solicitor owed you a duty of care.
- They breached their duty in some way.
- You experienced loss as a consequence.
- You are within the 6-year time limit for starting a professional negligence claim.
With this in mind, please contact our team if you require clarity on the basis of your potential claim. Our team are happy to discuss eligibility in detail with you if you choose to get in touch with the contact details above.
Claiming Against A Solicitor If Your Personal Injury Claim Was Struck Out
If your personal injury claim has gone to court, it is vital that your solicitor adheres to court deadlines and instructions given by the court. Failure to comply with the court can mean that the judge moves to strike your claim out.
Here are examples of why a personal injury claim may be struck out due to the fault of your solicitor.
- Failure on the part of your solicitor to show up for court appearances.
- The personal injury solicitor does not file the correct paperwork on time.
- Not paying court fees at the correct time.
- Submitting information to the courts that is either incomplete or incorrect.
- Where the solicitor does not provide reasonable grounds for the claim
- The solicitor fails to adhere to the court’s instructions
There could have been another reason that the claim was struck out. So it can be useful to check with our advisors first about your eligibility to claim for professional negligence.
Other Examples Of When You Could Claim Against A Solicitor For Professional Negligence
There are other ways in which the actions or inactions of a personal injury solicitor could damage the prospects of your claim. For example, they could:
Settle your claim for too low an amount – this can happen when the solicitor fails to accurately value the personal injury claim or does not include long-term cost implications like lost wages and medical treatments. The amount awarded could therefore be too low.
Overlook the limitation date – In some cases, the solicitor could fail to initiate the claim within the three-year time limit laid out for personal injury claims. Or they could fail to take prompt action with the claim, meaning they missed the limitation date because they ran out of time.
Professional Negligence Claim Time Limit
Limitation Act 1980 states the six-year time limit for making a professional negligence claim. The precise date that this can start depends on a variety of factors. There are exceptions, please get in touch with our team to learn more.
Compensation For Professional Negligence Claims Against A Solicitor
Compensation for professional negligence claims attempts to place the claimant in the position they would have been in had the negligence not occurred. How professional negligence compensation is calculated depends entirely on the individual circumstances. When making a professional negligence claim against a solicitor due to their actions resulting in your personal injury claim being struck out, you first need to prove that your original claim would have succeeded had it not been for the negligence of your solicitor, and you would have been awarded compensation for your personal injury.
If the professional negligence claim is successful, you could be awarded the same two types of damages you would have received in the original personal injury claim: general and special damages.
General damages aim to provide compensation for the physical and psychological injury caused in the original accident. These damages acknowledge issues like pain, suffering and loss of amenity.
Legal professionals calculate these amounts by using a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). We include an excerpt below to illustrate. Please note that the figures shown are just guidelines for certain injury levels:
Award Bracket Guideline Examples
| Area of Harm | Severity Level | Award Bracket Guideline | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head | (c) Moderate (i) | £150,110 to £219,070 | Cases of moderate to severe intellectual deficit as well as possible personality change. |
| Back | (a) Severe (i) | £91,090 to £160,980 | Cases of severe injury to the spinal cord and nerve root. Severe pain and disability resulting. |
| Leg | (b) Severe (ii) Very Serious | £54,830 to £87,890 | Injuries that cause permanent problems with mobility and require the person to use walking aids for the remainder of their life. |
| Foot | (e) Serious | £24,990 to £39,200 | This bracket reflects continuing pain from traumatic arthritis or future risk and the need for prolonged treatment or surgery. |
| Neck | (b) Moderate (i) | £24,990 to £38,490 | Fractures or dislocations that give rise to severe symptoms straight away and may demand spinal surgery. |
| Shoulder | (a) Severe | £19,200 to £48,030 | Nerve damage of an acute nature causing significant disability and other significant neck and/or arm issues. |
| Arm | (c) Less Severe Injuries | £19,200 to £39,170 | Significant disabilities initially followed by a substantial level of recovery taking place. |
| Elbow | (b) Less Severe Injuries | £15,650 to £32,010 | Injuries that cause impaired function but do not require major surgical intervention. |
| Knee | (b) Moderate (i) | £14,840 to £26,190 | Injuries that involve dislocation and torn cartilage or meniscus. This in turn can cause wasting, instability and other types of mild disability. |
| Ankle | (c) Moderate | £13,740 to £26,590 | Fractures and ligament tears that create less serious disabilities. |
In addition to this, an 8% interest can apply for each year that has passed.
Special Damages
Special damages compensate for financial losses caused by the injury. Claimants need to present evidence of financial loss and costs that are directly related to the injuries. This might be receipts, paid invoices, bank statements or wage slips that demonstrate things like:
- Medical expenses
- Lost earnings
- Travel costs to and from hospital appointments
- Domestic care costs
- Essential alterations to your home or car.
If you would like to access a personalised assessment of your potential compensation, please get in touch with our team. They will be happy to go through an eligibility criteria assessment.
Has Your Claim Been Struck Out? – Contact Us For Free To See If You Can Make A No Win No Fee Claim
If you are considering claiming compensation against a solicitor after your claim was struck out, we can help.
We work closely with professional negligence solicitors. They offer their expertise under a type of No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Agreements like this allow you to access the services of a solicitor with no upfront fees needed.
A capped percentage of the compensation becomes due only if the claim is a success. This is deducted from the compensation award as a success fee, but the crucial advantage can be that no fees are typically needed at all if the claim fails.
To learn more about how an agreement like this could help you, please call our team at the contact details :
- Reach out on 0161 696 9685
- Contact us via the online option.
- Try our live chat feature to get started.
Learn More About How To Claim Against A Solicitor For Professional Negligence
Thank you for reading this guide about what you can do after your claim was struck out due to a negligent solicitor. To help further, the resources below look at other aspects of professional negligence:
- Read more on how professional negligence solicitors could help you.
- More about the evidence you need in professional negligence claims.
- Further advice if your solicitor forgot to include loss of earnings in your claim.
These external resources may also be helpful:
- The SRA provides a useful explanation of legal jargon.
- Some commonly encountered legal issues discussed by the Law Society.
- Lastly, we look at the Pre-Action Protocol for Professional Negligence Claims.