Supreme Court considers causation and loss of chance in negligence case (Perry v Raleys Solicitors)

Table of contents

• What are the practical implications of the decision?
• What was the background?
• What did the Supreme Court decide?
• Causation
• Jurisdiction

Article summary

Dispute Resolution analysis: Ben Quiney QC and James Sharpe, barristers at Crown Office Chambers, examine the decision of the Supreme Court in Perry v Raleys Solicitors concerning the situation where—although it was agreed that the appellant law firm had breached its duty of care to the respondent retired miner by failing to give him competent legal advice concerning his claim for compensation for an industrial injury—the breach had not caused him the loss of an opportunity to claim an extra award of compensation because his degree of incapacity was not sufficient to have entitled him to the extra award.