Starting a professional negligence claim—a practical guide
Published by a LexisNexis Dispute Resolution expert
Practice notesStarting a professional negligence claim—a practical guide
Published by a LexisNexis Dispute Resolution expert
Practice notes
Scope of this Practice Note
This Practice Note provides practical guidance and tips when bringing a professional negligence claim. It includes a hypothetical claim scenario for illustration purposes. It covers immediate considerations from identifying the duty (contractual, tortious or both) and the alleged breach, the loss and remedy sought, including causation, quantum and duties to mitigate, application of the Pre-Action Protocol for Professional Negligence, limitation and issuing and pleading the claim, evidential issues including disclosure and use of experts, as well as practical matters such as alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and cross-border issues.
Professional negligence claims can cover a whole range of professional activities, including claims against:
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the medical profession—see Practice Note: The pre-action protocol for the resolution of clinical disputes—6 April 2015 onwards and related content
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architects and engineers—see Practice Note: Construction Pre-Action Protocol—application, exclusions and objectives and related content
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solicitors and barristers
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surveyors
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insurance and financial service providers
In the absence of a specific pre-action protocol such as those for clinical negligence and engineering claims, the Pre-Action
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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Related legal acts:
Key definition:
Negligence definition
What does Negligence mean?
Negligence is 'the omission to do something which a reasonable man, guided upon those considerations which ordinarily regulate human affairs, would do, or doing something which a prudent and reasonable man would not do' (Blythe v Birmingham Waterworks (1856) 11 Exch 781, at p 784). It is accepted that the test for breach of duty is objective, in the sense that the individual character and mental and physical features of the particular defendant are usually irrelevant.
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