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Solicitors are not immune from making mistakes and sometime these can be costly. In most cases you will be happy with the service you receive but in some instances mistakes can be made that leave you out of pocket and wanting answers.
We have been working with people like you for over 30 years and we understand that sometimes an apology is not enough. At Healys we are here to help you recover any losses (financial or otherwise) you have suffered and get the answers you deserve.
“We trawled the internet and telephone directories assembling a short list of legal advisors, appearing suitably qualified, to guide us through a professional negligence claim against our previous firm of solicitors. Robert Johnson’s instant response coupled with his ability to grasp the overall situation concluded our choice. We were not disappointed.” – Paul and Lynne Stonestreet
Our team has a wealth of experience in professional negligence and we have developed relations with leading chambers in the industry. We are recognized in the field by a leading industry directory, the Legal 500. We are also members of the Professional Negligence Lawyers Association.
Most claims against solicitors can be complex and that’s why it’s important to have a team that is industry recognised and that you can trust. There are number issues you can claim for but these are the most common.
In order to win a negligence claim against a solicitor, the claimant will need to prove a number of things.
Duty of Care
Foremost among these is the notion of “duty of care”, meaning that it is necessary to prove that, under the terms of the solicitor-client relationship, the defendant solicitor owed a duty to the claimant. That is wide enough to cover the mistake made.
Breach of Duty
The next step in building a persuasive negligence claim against a solicitor is in proving that the solicitor in question breached the duty of care.
This involves comparing and testing the actions of the solicitor against a number of important criteria – underpinning this assessment will be the overarching question of whether the defendant’s service and conduct met the standards of a reasonably competent solicitor.
“After being left out of pocket by a negligent local solicitor, I instructed Robert Johnson to act on my behalf to try and retrieve the monies that were owed to me. Robert and his team not only kept me informed and up to date throughout the whole time but was successful in retrieving nearly the whole amount in an out of court settlement. I cannot thank Robert Johnson enough and would recommend Robert and Healys Solicitors.” – Richard Watts
Other questions to be considered will include whether the solicitor followed the client’s instructions and took reasonable care in carrying out those instructions. Before reaching any ruling a court will also need to look at whether the solicitor demonstrated basic competence and skill, offered advice on all appropriate matters, and whether he or she sought to protect the client’s interests.
Loss
Even in cases where breach of duty and causation are proven, it is still incumbent on the claimant to show that the losses are not too remote from the cause of them. In short, they must be reasonably foreseeable.
Once this loss has been proven, liability can be established and only the question of an appropriate sum of compensation will remain.
Causation
The loss suffered must have been cause by the breach of duty. This is often the most difficult aspect to prove as not everything a breach is caused by that breach.
Hence, depending on the circumstance in relation to the purchase of property that (properly advised) would not have been purchased, you may/may not recover the loss in value caused by the fall in the general property market.
For specialist advice and representation in a professional negligence claim against a solicitor our Brighton and London teams can help. Contact us today by using our call-back form, email partner Robert Johnson or call directly on 020 7822 4106.
