Professional negligence claims: what to know first
A professional negligence claim is brought against a professional for alleged negligence. It can also rest on an equivalent breach of contract or fiduciary duty. Time limits apply to these claims, so the relevant dates matter from the start. However, the separate Legal Ombudsman route first requires a complaint to the legal service provider.
The short answer
A professional negligence claim targets alleged negligence by a professional, for example a solicitor, and time limits apply, so note the key dates in your matter early. If your concern is with a legal service provider, you must complain to it first, and it has up to eight weeks to put things right. Only then can you bring the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, and meanwhile you can check who you are dealing with on the SRA Solicitors Register. The sections below take each of these three points in turn.
What professional negligence is
The Pre-Action Protocol for Professional Negligence applies where a claimant wishes to claim against a professional for alleged negligence or equivalent breach of contract or fiduciary duty. The protocol does not cover construction professionals or healthcare providers. This guide does not define the legal test for negligence, since the facts it relies on do not set that test out.
However, you can still prepare. Write down what you asked the professional to do, when you asked, and what went wrong. Keep letters, emails and invoices together in date order. Add short notes of any phone calls, with the date and who you spoke to. As a result, any specialist you speak to can follow the story quickly. If your concern is with a solicitor, our dispute resolution page covers the wider area.
Time limits
Under section 2 of the Limitation Act 1980, an action founded on tort must not be brought after six years from the date the cause of action accrued. Section 5 sets the same six-year limit for an action founded on simple contract. Exceptions exist, so six years is not the whole story.
This guide cannot tell you whether your claim is in time, because that depends on your own dates and facts. Therefore, write down when you gave instructions, when the work finished and when you first noticed a problem. Those dates help a specialist work out which limit applies and when it began. Asking early also leaves you time to gather the papers a specialist will want to see.
Complain first
You must first complain to the legal service provider before you bring the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. The provider has up to eight weeks to put things right. While that period runs, keep a copy of your complaint and of any reply. Note the date you sent it, so you can show when you raised the problem and what the firm did next.
The Legal Ombudsman publishes guidance on complaints that allege negligence. It says it receives complaints that could be treated as a cause of action in negligence or as a complaint about service. We do not say what the Legal Ombudsman can award or decide, because the facts we rely on do not state it. For the practical steps, read our guide on how to complain about a solicitor. That guide owns the process, so this page only explains why the order matters.
The steps before a claim
The Pre-Action Protocol for Professional Negligence sets out steps to take before a claim starts, for the professionals it covers. Under it, the professional has three months from the date of the Letter of Acknowledgment to investigate and respond to the Letter of Claim.
Because the response period runs for three months, a reply may take a while. In the meantime, keep your documents in date order and note any further contact with the professional. A specialist can explain what a Letter of Claim should contain, since this guide does not cover the detail. However, the protocol is only one part of the picture, so the time limits above still matter while you wait.
How to check a solicitor and what fees may apply
The SRA Solicitors Register lets you look up the records of the solicitors and law firms the SRA regulates, and check whether somebody is a solicitor and where they work. Our guide to checking a solicitor is regulated explains why this matters, and it is a sensible step if you are looking for professional negligence solicitors in London.
On fees, no-win-no-fee agreements have a maximum success fee. Under article 3 of the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, the maximum for proceedings in general is 100 per cent, which is an uplift on the lawyer’s normal fees. This guide gives no price, so ask any adviser to set out their fees in writing. Our check-a-solicitor page shows how to use the Register.