What Should You Know About Professional Negligence?
by Matthew JamesThe vast majority of work carried out by professionals and contracts between companies and individuals are dealt with properly, efficiently and professionally, however sometimes things do go wrong.
If they do go wrong, what should you know?
1. You have a right to expect certain standards from professionals. They are better qualified and more experienced than you, otherwise you wouldn’t have used their services.
2. You may be able to claim in the event that the professional has not provided the level of service or professionalism that you would have expected. This could be a claim against a builder, or against a hospital.
3. In some instances, compensation claims are settled too low by solicitors. If this happens to you, you may want to see if there is a case of professional negligence to answer to, in order to get you the compensation you are entitled to.
4. Sometimes claims are brought outside statutory time limits. This means that they can’t be processed, so you won’t be compensated, through no fault of your own.
5. In certain instances, cases are struck out by courts for procedural failings. If your solicitor or barrister is not up to speed with your case, and experienced in this type of case, they may miss an aspect which means that the case is dismissed.
6. Professional negligence covers losses caused when buying, selling or letting a property in terms of conveyancing. One of the common reasons for cases of professional negligence amongst property professionals are failing to correctly value property, and so making the property too cheap or too expensive. Another reason is not spotting structural defects. This could be dangerous and potentially result in injury or further damage to property, as well as causing undue expensive for the buyer.
7. Professional negligence also deals with the miss-selling of financial products such as pensions and endowments. There has been a lot of media coverage about claims against companies that have miss-sold payment protection insurance, and excessive bank charges.
8. Your case against a firm of professionals may be due to excessive charges that were not mentioned previously. If you disagree with the costs and the company are not prepared to discuss it with you, then you may want to seek the advice of a professional negligence solicitor.
9. Companies and individuals may need to claim against their architects, or others involved in the construction or renovation of a building. Building regulations may not have been adhered to, or planning permission may not have been sought. This may result in a building having to be demolished, or completely redesigned and reconstructed which will make the project take a lot longer.
10. Professionals and their insurers may make it very difficult for an individual to claim against them. With reputations as well as money at stake, they really won’t want to upset a client, but nor will they admit defeat easily. This is why a professional negligence solicitor is so important to ensure that the client gets what they deserve.
Now you know that you don’t have to settle for shoddy workmanship, or an unprofessional service. If you feel that there is somebody responsible for the substandard product, service or treatment you have received, then why not see if there is a professional negligence case to answer?